GIRARD  COLLEGE 


AMI)  ITS  FOMMfi 


THE  UNIVERSITY 

OF  ILLINOIS 

LIBRARY 

c 

644  Ea 


THE 


GIRARD  COLLEGE 


ITS  FOUNDER 


CONTAINING 


THE   BIOGRAPHY  OF  ME.   GIRARD, 


HISTORY     OP     THE     INSTITUTION,     ITS     ORGANIZATION    AND     PLAN     OS 

DISCIPLINE.    "WITH    THE    COURSE    OF   EDUCATION,    F0RM8    CI 

ADMISSION    OF    PUPILS,    DESCRIPTION    OF   THE 

BUILDINGS,    &C  AKV.*  AND 


i  W\\\  af  3Ei\  iirarb. 


HENRY  W.  AREY, 

SECRETARY  OF  THE  GIRARD  COLLEGE. 


PHILADELPHIA : 

C.    SHERMAN    &    SON,   PRINTERS, 

S.  W.  CORNER  OF  SEVENTH  AND  CHERRY  STS. 
1860. 


Entered,  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1852,  by  Henry 
W.  Arey,  in  the  Clerk's  Office  of  the  District  Court  of  the  United  States 
for  the  Eastern  District  of  Pennsylvania. 


STEREOTYPED   Ex    J    e\GA$.  0-  8HERMAN.   PRINTER. 


CONTENTS 


BIOGRAPHY  OF  STEPHEN  GIRARD page    5 

HISTORY   OF   THE   COLLEGE,  AND   ITS   PLAN   OF  ORGANIZA- 
TION AND  DISCIPLINE 30 

DESCRIPTION  OF  THE  BUILDINGS 44 

WILL  OF  MR.  GIRARD 57 


6(50544 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 

in  2012  with  funding  from 

University  of  Illinois  Urbana-Champaign 


http://archive.org/details/girardcollegeitsOOarey 


BIOGKAPHY 


STEPHEN  GIRAED 


No  contribution  hitherto  made  in  this  country  to  the  great  cause 
of  human  charity,  has  excited  more  general  interest,  or  become 
more  widely  known,  than  the  Bequest  of  Stephen  Girard  to  estab- 
lish and  maintain  a  College  for  orphans.  The  character  of  the 
benevolence,  the  magnitude  of  the  fund,  and  the  splendor  of  the 
building,  have  all  contributed  to  bring  his  institution  prominently 
before  the  public  eye,  and  to  make -it  the  object  of  pride  to  every 
citizen,  and  of  attraction  to  every  stranger. 

The  history  of  any  man,  whose  kind  heart  could  conceive,  and 
whose  vast  means  could  accomplish  a  purpose  fraught  with  so 
much  good,  would  be  interesting;  but  the  life  of  Mr.  Girard  is 
more  than  this, — it  is  instructive.  It  teaches  us  what  we  can  do 
in  the  face  of  obstacles,  when  we  are  patient,  zealous,  and  self-re- 
liant; it  shows  that  there  is  at  least  a  partial  omnipotence  about 
the  human  will,  that  can  supply  the  want  of  wealth,  of  friends, 
and  of  education  ;  but  above  all,  it  exemplifies  how  the  hard  toil 
of  a  life-time,  and  the  thirst  for  gold,  may  be  elevated  and  sancti- 
fied by  being  devoted  to  the  claims  of  humanity. 

Although  comparatively  humble  in  his  origin,  and  without  the 

advantages  of  wealth  or  education  and  the  influences  of  friends, 

he  has  reared  to  his  memory  the   proudest  and  most  enduring  of 

monuments.    Yet  splendid  as  is  the  marble  structure  which  stands 

1*  (5) 


6  BIOGRAPHY  OP  STEPHEN  GIRARD. 

above  his  remains,  it  yields  in  beauty  to  the  moral  monument 
The  benefactor  sleeps  among  the  orphan  poor,  whom  his  bounty 
is  constantly  rearing.  Thus  for  ever  present,  unseen  but  felt,  he 
daily  stretches  forth  his  "invisible  hands"  to  lead  some  friendless 
child  from  ignorance  and  vice,  to  usefulness  and  perhaps  distinction. 
And  when,  in"  the  fullness  of  time,  many  homes  have  been  made 
happy,  many  orphans  have  been  fed  and  clothed  and  educated,  and 
many  men  rendered  useful  to  their  country  and  themselves,  each 
happy  home,  or  rescued  child,  or  useful  citizen  will  be  a  living 
monument  to  perpetuate  the  name  and  embalm  the  memory  of  the 
dead  "Mariner  and  Merchant.' ' 

The  retiring  disposition  and  unobtrusive  character  of  Mr.  Gi- 
rard,  refused  to  gratify  the  curiosity,  which  was  not  unfrequeutly 
expressed  during  his  life-time,  to  learn  something  of  his  early  his- 
tory. It  is  not  therefore  remarkable  that  hitherto,  in  the  absence 
of  all  means  of  knowledge,  no  reliable  information,  particularly  of 
this  portion  of  his  life,  has  existed,  and  that  many  erroneous  state- 
ments have  been  so  frequently  made,  that  Fiction  has  now  almost 
grown  to  be  Fact.  Among  the  provisions  of  his  will  is  the  direc- 
tion, that  his  books  and  papers  shall  be  deposited  in  a  room  of  bis 
College,  and  be  therein  carefully  preserved.  Fortunately  these 
musty  records  have  afforded  in  a  material  degree  the  light  which 
has  hitherto  been  wanting,  and  to  them  the  writer  has  been  princi- 
pally indebted  for  the  materials  of  this  brief  Biography. 

Stephen  Grirard  was  born  in  Bordeaux  on  the  21st  day  of  May 
1750.  He  was  the  eldest  of  five  children  who  were  descended 
from  Pierre  Grirard,  described  in  the  registry  of  Baptism,  now  pre- 
served in  that  city,  as  a  sea-captain,  and  Mdlle.  Lafargue  his  wife. 

Without  wishing  to  trespass  upon  the  sacred  privacy  of  domes- 
tic life,  it  is  painfully  evident  even  from  the  scanty  light  afforded 
by  his  letters,  that  the  early  life  of  Stephen  was  by  no  means  a 
happy  one.  In  every  one  of  the  few  references  which  are  found 
in  this  portion  of  his  history  —  for  it  was  a  subject  that  be  seldom 
referred  to, —  there  is  the  same  proof,  that  his  childhood  had  no 
pleasant  or  sweet  remembrances.  Sixty-three  years  afterwards,  he 
thus  wrote  of  this  portion  of  his  history.     "  I  have  the  proud  sat- 


BIOGRAPHY    OF    STEPHEN    GIRARD.  7 

^faction  to  know  that  my  conduct,  my  labor,  and  my  economy 
have  enabled  me  to  do  one  hundred  times  more  for  my  relatives, 
than  they  altogether  have  ever  done  for  me  since  the  day  of  my 
^>irth.  While  my  brothers  were  taught  at  College,  I  was  the  only 
one  whose  education  was  neglected.  But  the  love  of  labor,  which 
has  not  left  me  yet,  has  placed  me  in  the  ranks  of  citizens  useful 
to  society."  The  correct  cause  of  this  unhappiness  is  now  difficult 
to  ascertain,  but  one  reason  is  at  least  suggested  in  that  not  unfre- 
quent  source  of  similar  difficulties, —  a  second  marriage  by  his  fa- 
ther. In  a  letter  written  in  1789,  he  thus  again  refers  to  this 
period  of  his  life.  "  I  was  very  young  when  my  father  married 
again,  and  since  then,  I  can  say  with  truth,  I  have  made  my  way 
alone,  with  means  gained  from  my  nurse,  the  sea." 

The  early  career  of  Stephen  affords  nothing  of  particular  inte- 
rest. Entering  upon  the  active  pursuits  of  life  at  a  period  when 
most  children  are  yet  at  school,  his  education  was  necessarily  lim- 
ited, but  he  subsequently  partially  supplied  this  want,  by  careful 
study  and  observation,  as  is  sufficiently  attested  by  the  neatness 
and  accuracy  of  many  early  papers  in  his  hand-writing  yet  in  ex- 
istence. 

Thus  impelled  by  feelings  of  early  disappointment,  but  most 
likely  influenced  still  more  by  that  self-reliance  and  persevering 
ambition  which  were  so  characteristic  of  him,  Stephen  early  de- 
cided to  throw  himself  upon  his  own  resources,  and,  guided  no 
doubt  by  the  occupation  of  his  father,  selected  the  sea  as  his  fu- 
ture means  of  livelihood.  In  the  year  1764,  then  not  quite  four- 
teen years  of  age,  he  left  his  home  with  the  consent  of  his  parents, 
and  for  the  purpose  of  acquiring  a  practical  knowledge  of  the  pro- 
fession he  had  chosen,  sailed  for  St.  Domingo  in  the  capacity  of  a 
sailor  on  board  a  vessel  called  the  "  Pelerin,"  commanded  by  Cap- 
tain John  Courteau.  Upon  the  termination  of  this  voyage,  which 
lasted  some  ten  months,  he  returned  to  his  home,  but  soon  sailed 
again  for  the  French  West  Indian  possessions,  between  which 
islands  and  Bordeaux  he  continued  to  make  frequent  voyages  in  the 
course  of  the  next  nine  years.    'During  this  time  he  labored  assid- 


8  BIOGRAPHY   OF   STEPHEN    GIRARD. 

ulousiy  to  supply  the  want  of  early  education,  and  particularly  to 
perfect  himself  in  nautical  information.  And  with  such  favorable 
results  was  this  industry  attended,  that  his  last  voyages  were  per- 
formed in  the  capacity  of  first  officer,  or,  as  the  office  was  then 
termed  in  the  French  mercantile  marine,  Lieutenant  of  his  vessel. 
Stephen  was  no  idler  during  these  cruises.  In  addition  to 
becoming  proficient  in  practical  navigation  and  astronomy,  he  was 
laying  the  foundation  of  his  future  fortune  by  careful  study  of 
general  mercantile  operations,  and  particularly  of  the  products  of 
these  Islands,  the  habits  of  their  people,  and  their  mode  of  buying 
and  selling. 

Upon  his  return  to  his  home  at  the  termination  of  his  sixth 
voyage,  having  now  obtained  the  requisite  theoretical  and  practical 
knowledge,  he  applied  for  authority  to  command  a  vessel.  The 
existing  laws  of  France  required  that  in  addition  to  a  fixed  period 
of  sea  service,  the  applicant  should  have  made  two  cruises  upon  a 
national  vessel,  and  should  be  at  least  twenty-five  years  of  age. 
These  two  latter  requisites  were  wanting  in  his  case,  but  the  influ- 
ence of  his  family  was  sufficient  to  obtain  a  dispensation,  and  after 
undergoing  the  necessary  examination,  a  license  was  duly  granted 
on  the  4th  of  October  1773,  which  is  yet  in  existence,  giving  (for 
so  it  reads)  "  to  Stephen  G-irard  of  Bordeaux  full  authority  to  act 
as  Captain,  Master,  and  Patron  of  a  Merchant  Vessel." 

The  early  age  at  which  he  attained  this  rapid  promotion  in  the 
face  of  limited  education  and  other  difficulties,  sufficiently  attests 
the  zeal  and  energy  with  which  he  must  have  labored  during 
these  ten  years,  and  gave  earnest  of  that  decision  of  character  and 
perseverance  which  so  distinguished  his  after  life. 

His  attention  appears  now  for  the  first  time  to  have  been  turned 
to  the  prosecution  of  commercial  affairs  in  connection  with  the 
pursuit  of  the  sea  j  and  at  this  period  commences  the  first  con- 
tinuous record  which  is  to  be  found  among  the  large  mass  of  books 
and  papers,  the  accumulation  of  nearly  sixty  years  of  active  business 
life,  which  he  directs  shall  be  preserved  in  one  of  the  rooms  of 
the  College.  This  Record  consists  of  a  Journal  kept  by  himself 
in  a  neat  and  careful  style,  and  contains  the  invoices  and  the 


BIOGRAPHY   OF    STEPHEN   GIRARD.  9 

accounts  of  sales  of  a  quantity  of  goods  suited  to  a  West  India 
market,  which  he  at  this  time  purchased  from  sundry  merchants 
in  Bordeaux,  partly  on  his  own  credit  and  partly  on  that  of  his 
father ;  and  from  this  period,  beginning  with  this  moderate  invest- 
ment, really  dates  the  commencement  of  that  magnificenf  fortune, 
which  in  after  years,  so  abundantly  rewarded  his  industry,  perse- 
verance, and  economy. 

With  these  goods,  amounting  to  nearly  16,000  livres,  or  about 
3000  dollars  in  Federal  money,  Mr.  Girard  started  on  his  first 
mercantile  adventure,  and  sailed  again  from  his  home,  (which  he 
never  afterwards  revisited,)  arriving  at  St.  Marc's,  in  the  island  of 
St.  Domingo,  in  the  month  of  February  1774.  He  soon  disposed 
of  his  venture  there,  and  at  Port  au  Prince ;  and,  converting  the 
proceeds  into  produce,  he  left  the  West  Indies  and  arrived  for  the 
first  time  in  the  United  States,  at  the  port  of  New  York,  in  the 
month  of  July  of  the  same  year.  The  business  tact  and  shrewd- 
ness displayed  in  disposing  of  the  articles  which  he  brought  with 
him  to  New  York,  attracted  the  notice  of  Mr.  Thomas  Randall, 
then  a  merchant  of  that  place,  whose  countenance  and  assistance 
proved  of  material  advantage  to  him  in  his  subsequent  mercantile 
arrangements.  During  the  three  following  years  he  laboriously 
employed  his  time  in  trading  between  New  York,  New  Orleans, 
and  Port  au  Prince ;  in  the  first  instance  as  mate  on  board  a  ship 
called  L'amiable  Louise,  Captain  Malahard,  and  subsequently  as 
master  and  part  owner,  jointly  with  Mr.  Randall,  of  a  small  vessel 
and  cargo. 

It  was  in  this  latter  capacity,  that  in  the  month  of  May  1777, 
Mr.  Girard  entered  the  waters  of  the  Delaware,  and  arrived  for 
the  first  time  at  Philadelphia.  The  business  facilities  and  practi- 
cal information  which  he  had  by  this  time  acquired  through  his  in- 
tercourse with  merchants  in  New  York,  New  Orleans,  and  St, 
Domingo,  joined  to  the  control  of  a  small  capital  gained  by  his 
thrift  and  steady  labor  since  his  departure  from  Bordeaux,  deter- 
mined him  now  to  change  the  dangerous  profession  of  a  sailor,  for 
the  less  hazardous  and  more  profitable  one  of  a  merchant.  With 
this  view  he  commenced  business,  and  rented  a  store  in  Water 


10  BIOGRAPHY   OF    STEPHEN    GIRARD. 

street,  within  a  short  distance  of  the  spot  where  he  afterwards 
located  himself  permanently. 

In  the  month  of  July  of  this  year,  Mr.  Girard  was  married  to 
Mary  Lumm,  a  native  of  Philadelphia;  and  soon  after  the  mar- 
riage, on  the  approach  of  the  British  troops  to  take  possession  of 
the  city,  he  left  with  his  wife  for  Mount  Holly  in  the  state  of  New 
Jersey,  where  he  purchased  a  small  property,  and  where  he  con- 
tinued to  reside  until  the  evacuation  of  Philadelphia  by  the  enemy 
on  the  17th  of  June  1778,  when  he  again  returned  and  resumed  his 
business.  Although  unwilling  to  dwell  upon  a  subject -of  so  much 
delicacy,  it  is  proper  to  state,  that  this  marriage  did  not  result  happily. 
There  is  sufficient  evidence  among  the  papers  of  Mr.  Girard  to  show, 
that,  as  is  not  unusual  in  such  matters,  his  reputation  while  living, 
and  his  memory  after  death,  have  both  unjustly  suffered  from  erro- 
neous public  impressions  on  this  subject.  In  the  beginning 
of  the  year  1785,  his  wife  exhibited  .signs  of  derangement  of  mind, 
which  increased  until  it  became  necessary  to  to  make  application 
for  her  admission  into  the  Pennsylvania  Hospital,  were  she  was 
accordingly  received  in  September  of  that  year.  Shortly  after- 
wards however,  anxious  to  try  every  means  of  restoration,  he  re- 
moved her  from  that  institution,  and  placed  her  in  the  country,  but 
without  benefit.  In  consequence  of  this  affliction,  his  domestic 
condition  became  so  painful,  that  he  finally  determined  to  return 
to  his  old  occupation  of  a  mariner,  and  by  absence  seek  the  tran- 
quillity denied  him  in  his  home.  For  this  purpose  he  sailed  for 
the  Mediterranean,  but  upon  his  return  finding  that  the  disorder 
of  his  wife,  instead  of  being  lessened,  had  greatly  augmented,  he 
took  measures  to  place  her  again  in  the  Hospital.  Mrs.  Girard 
was  admitted  anew  on  the  31st  of  August  1790,  into  that  institu- 
tion, where  she  gave  birth  in  May  of  the  following  year  to  a  fe- 
male child  (the  only  issue  of  this  unfortunate  marriage)  who  died 
shortly  afterwards,  and  where  she  remained  until  her  death  in  Sep- 
tember 1815.  Her  remains  were  deposited  in  the  grounds  on  the 
north  side  of  the  Hospital. 

Upon  his  return  to  Philadelphia,  Mr.  Girard  directed  his  atten- 
tion particularly  to  the  West  India  trade,  for  which  his  previous 


BIOGRAPHY   OF    STEPHEN    GIRARD.  11 

education  peculiarly  fitted  him,  and  for  which  some  advantages 
were  furnished  in  the  residence/in  St.  Domingo  of  his  brother  John, 
who  had  now  become  a  member  of  a  commercial  house  at  Cape 
Francois. 

Prosecuting  successfully^!}  is  trade,  Mr.  G-irard  in  the  year  1780 
entered  into  partnershin/with  Joseph  Baldesqui;  for  although  the 
fact  is  not  generally  Anown,  he  was  on  two  occasions  engaged 
jointly  in  business y—  first,  in  the  instance  just  cited,  and  after- 
wards in  1786  wim  his  brother  John.  Neither  of  these  business 
arrangements  continued  long,  or  proved  satisfactory ;  for  his  active 
mind,  and  intuitive  perception  in  commercial  matters,  could  ill 
brook  the  restraint  and  mistakes/of  others  less  favored. 

The  earnest  labor,  and  the  s/rict  economy,  with  which  he  con- 
ducted his  business  at  this  period,  joined  to  unusual  skill  as  a 
merchant,  now  rendered  hiss  progress  to  fortune  both  sure  and 
rapid.  In  1784  he  constructed  his  first  vessel  the  "  Two  Bro- 
thers/' and  his  brother  having  arrived  in  September  1786  to  take 
his  place  in  the  management  of  the  house  here,  Stephen  sailed  in 

Charleston,  and  thence  to  the  Medi- 


ladelphia  in  July  1788.'     This  partner- 


command  of  this  brig 
terranean,  returning  to  Pli" 

ship  was  shortly  afterwards  '^dissolved,  and  he  resumed  the  man- 
agement of  his  business  in  person,  continuing  afterwards  to  reside 
uninterruptedly  in  the  city  oi  Philadelphia  until  his  death. 

At  this  period  of  the  life  ^f  Mr.  Grirard,  an  incident  occurred 
which  deserves  more  than  a  passing  notice ;  —  an  incident,  which 
for  its  moral  heroism  and  self-denying  charity,  gives  to  his  name 
even  a  higher  title  than  that  of  being  the  Founder  of  the  College 
for  Orphans.  t 

In  the  latter,  part  of  the  month  of  July  1793,  a  malignant  dis- 
order, which'soon  proved  to  be  the  Yellow  Fever  in  its  most  fatal 
form,  broke  out  in  Water  street  between  Arch  and  Race  streets  in 
the  city  of  Philadelphia.  Extending  northwards  to  Vine  street, 
it  was  soon  communicated  to  Front,  and  thence  extended  to  the 
parallel  streets,  and  those  running  east  and  west.  Every  attempt 
to  stay  the  disorder  proved  unavailing,  and  the  pestilence  swept 
on  with  resistless  power,  gathering  fresh  force  with  fresh  victims, 


12  BIOGRAPHY   OF   STEPHEN    GIRARD. 

until  the  fair  city  became  one  vast  charnel-house.  All  whose 
means  or  circumstances  permitted,  fled  in  dismay,  and  the  scenes 
of  horror  and  death  that  were  exhibited  in  the  streets  of  Philadel- 
phia, particularly  from  the  25th  of  August  until  late  in  the  month 
of  September,  could  not  have  been  excelled,  in  proportion  to  the 
population,  by  the  famous  plague  of  Athens,  or  the  pestilence  of 
London.  The  ties  of  nature  were  for  the  moment  forgotten,  or 
ruptured.  Authentic  cases  are  recorded,  where  parent  and  child, 
and  husband  and  wife,  died  deserted  and  alone,  for  want  of  a  little 
care  from  the  hands  of  absent  kindred.  The  public  buildings  were 
closed,  most  of  the  churches  were  shut  up,  and  the  few  remaining 
open  were  nearly  deserted ;  grass  literally  grew  in  the  streets,  and 
nothing  disturbed  the  silence  of  this  desolation,  except  the  occa- 
sional wail  of  some  victim  which  stole  out  upon  the  air,  or  the 
rumbling  of  the  cart  which  carried  the  sick  man  to  the  Hospital, 
or  the  dead  man  to  the  grave. 

In  the  midst  of  this  terrific  pestilence,  an  anonymous  call  ap- 
peared on  the  10th  of  September  in  the  Federal  Gazette,  the  only 
paper  which  continued  to  be  published,  stating  that  all  but  three 
of  the  Visitors  of  the  Poor  had  either  fled  or  succumbed  to  the 
disease,  and  begging  for  assistance  from  such  benevolent  citizens 
as  would  volunteer  their  aid.  In  consequence  of  this  call,  a  meet- 
ing was  held  at  the  City  Hall  on  the  12th  and  another  on  the  14th 
of  that  month,  at  which  a  committee  was  appointed  of  those  who 
voluntarily  offered  their  services  in  the  dangerous  undertaking. 
This  committee,  originally  consisting  of  twenty -seven,  but  which 
ultimately  dwindled  to  twelve  members,  immediately  proceeded  to 
take  active  measures  for  the  relief  of  the  distressed.  Their  first 
care  was  directed  to  the  organization  of  the  Hospital  at  Bush  Hill, 
which  was  reported  by  the  Physician  in  attendance  as  being  with- 
out order  or  regulation,  far  from  clean,  and  in  immediate  want  of 
qualified  persons  to  begin  and  establish  the  necessary  arrange- 
ments. These  qualified  agents  were  not  to  be  had.  Money  could 
not  purchase  such  self-devotion,  for  the  entrance  to  that  pest-house 
was  deemed  but  a  passage  to  the  grave.  At  this  trying  moment, 
two  men  magnanimously  offered  themselves  as  the  forlorn  hope  of 


BIOGRAPEIY   OF    STEPHEN    GIRARD.  13 

the  committee.  On  the  minutes  of  that  body  under  date  of  Sep- 
tember 15,  is  found  the  following  extract:  "Stephen  Girard,  and 
Peter  Helm,  members  of  the  committee,  commiserating  the  calam- 
itous state  to  which  the  sick  may  probably  be  reduced  for  want  of 
suitable  persons  to  superintend  the  Hospital,  voluntarily  offered 
their  services  for  that  benevolent  employment."  The  late  Ma- 
thew  Carey,  himself  also  a  member  of  that  body,  describing  this 
incident,  writes  as  follows  :  "  At  the  meeting  on  Sunday,  September 
the  15th,  a  circumstance  occurred  to  which  the  most  glowing  pen- 
cil can  hardly  do  justice.  Stephen  Girard,  a  wealthy  merchant,  i 
native  of  France,  and  one  of  the  members  of  the  committee,  sym- 
pathizing with  the  wretched  situation  of  the  sufferers  at  Bush 
Hill,  voluntarily  and  unexpectedly  offered  himself  as  a  manager  to 
superintend  that  Hospital.  The  surprise  and  satisfaction  excited 
by  this  extraordinary  effort  of  humanity,  can  be  better  conceived 
than  expressed." 

To  estimate  properly  the  value  of  this  act  of  self-devotion,  we 
must  call  to  mind  that  Mr.  Girard  was  then  in  the  zenith  of  his  life 
and  already  a  man  of  wealth  and  influence,  with  a  prospect  before  him 
of  a  long  career  of  happiness,  usefulness,  and  riches.  A  foreigner, 
and  without  immediate  family,  it  could  not  be  expected  that  any 
strong  bonds  of  sympathy  existed  between  him  and  the  people  of 
that  pestilence-stricken  city.  Before  him  stood  probable  death  in 
its  most  repulsive  form;  certain  and  heavy  losses  were  to  be 
entailed  in  the  neglect  of  his  private  interests;  the  most  loathsome 
and  the  most  menial  duties  were  to  be  performed  in  person ;  and 
the  possible  reward  of  all  this  was  a  nameless  grave  upon  the 
heights  of  Bush  Hill. 

On  the  afternoon  of  the  same  day  on  which  he  offered  his  ser- 
vices, Mr.  Girard  entered  upon  his  duties,  and  his  persevering  and 
decisive  character  was  immediately  felt  in  every  thing.  Order 
soon  reigned  where  all  before  was  confusion ;  cleanliness  took  the 
place  of  filth ;  attendants  and  medicines  were  at  hand ;  supplies 
and  accommodations  were  provided,  and  on  the  very  next  day  he 
reported  the  Hospital  as  ready  to  afford  every  assistance.  The 
following  interesting  extract  from  a  letter  written  by  him  at  this 
2 


14  BIOGRAPHY   OF    STEPHEN    GIRARD. 

time  to  his  friend  Samatan  in  Marseilles,  describes  vividly  the  con- 
dition  of  things  in  this  unfortunate  city.  "  The  mortality  is  so 
great,  and  the  fear  so  general,  that  it  is  no  longer  possible  to  find 
nurses  for  the  sick,  or  men  to  bury  the  dead.  In  fine,  we  are  in 
a  most  deplorable  situation.  Those  of  our  people  who  have 
escaped  the  disease,  have  fled  from  their  homes ;  almost  all  the 
houses  are  closed,  and  Philadelphians  are  not  received  into  the 
neighboring  villages,  without  undergoing  quarantine.  The  few 
who  have  had  the  courage  to  remain,  have  established  a  Hospital 
at  a  little  distance  from  the  city,  for  the  reception  of  the  unfortu- 
nate. I  am  the  active  Director,  which  causes  me  much  anxiety. 
I  do  not  know  when  the  disease  will  cease.  I  am  about  leaving 
this  moment  for  the  Hospital,  where  the  great  number  of  the 
sick,  who  are  constantly  arriving,  requires  my  constant  presence." 
For  sixty  days  he  continued  to  discharge  his  duties  at  the 
Hospital,  and  up  to  the  9th  of  March  following,  when  the  com- 
mittee concluded  its  labors,  and  ceased  to  exist,  his  name  is 
found  upon  the  records  as  a  faithful  attendant  at  its  meetings. 
And  these  noble  men  did  not  confine  themselves  to  mere  efforts  to 
stay  the  disease.  They  raised  upon  their  individual  credit  the 
necessary  funds,  until  public  contributions  could  reimburse  them ; 
they  supplied  the  poor  with  money,  provisions,  and  firewood ;  they 
furnished  burial  for  the  dead ;  they  received  under  their  care  192 
orphan  children,  (many  of  them  infants,)  whose  natural  protectors 
had  perished  of  the  fever ;  they  cleansed  and  purified  all  infected 
places ;  and  they  ceased  their  labors  only  when  they  had  taken 
precautions  against  a  similar  calamity  in  future,  by  procuring  better 
sanitary  regulations,  and  a  permanent  Hospital  for  such  diseases. 

The  deadly  nature  of  the  sickness  may  be  inferred  from  the 
fact,  that  during  the  period  between  the  1st  of  August  and  the 
9th  of  November,  4031  interments  took  place  in  the  burial 
grounds  in  and  about  the  city,  out  of  a  population  of  not  quite 
25,000  persons  who  remained  in  Philadelphia  and  the  Districts 
during  the  Plague. 

The  feelings  which  actuated  Mr.  Girard,  and  the  modest  esti- 
mate which  he  placed  upon  these  services,  may  be  best  inferred 


BIOGRAPHY   OF    STEPHEN    GIRARD.  15 

from  the  following  extracts  of  the  very  few  and  brief  letters  which 
he  appears  to  have  written  during  the  continuance  of  the  disease. 
u  The  deplorable  situation  to  which  fright  and  sickness  have 
reduced  the  inhabitants  of  our  city,  demands  succor  from  those 
who  do  not  fear  death,  or  who  at  least  do  not  see  any  risk  in  the 
epidemic  which  now  prevails  here.  This  will  occupy  me  for 
some  time,  and  if  I  have  the  misfortune  to  succumb,  I  will  have 
at  least  the  satisfaction  to  have  performed  a  duty  which  we  all 
owe  to  each  other."  (Letter  to  Les  Fils  de  P.  Changeraux  and 
Co.,  Baltimore,  September  16th,  1793.)  "You  will  receive  my 
thanks  for  your  high  opinion  respecting  my  occupation  in  the 
calamity  which  has  lately  afflicted  my  fellow-citizens.  On  that 
occasion,  I  only  regret  that  my  strength  and  ability  have  not  fully 
seconded  my  good  will."  (To  John  Ferris,  New  York,  November 
4th,  1793.)  Among  the  proudest  memorials  of  its  founder  which 
the  College  now  possesses,  is  a  worm-eaten  and  dust-covered  chest, 
containing  the  records  and  papers  connected  with  his  administration 
of  the  Hospital,  during  that  eventful  period. 

In  1797  and  1798,  the  fever  again  prevailed  in  Philadelphia 
with  fearful  violence,  and  again  Mr.  Girard  exhibited  the  same 
enlarged  philanthropy,  and  the  same  disregard  of  danger,  by 
liberal  contributions  and  personal  services  to  the  sick  and  dying. 

It  has  been  currently  believed,  that  at  the  time  of  the  insurrec- 
tion and  massacre  which  occurred  in  St.  Domingo,  in  1793,  he 
received  a  large  accession  to  his  fortune,  from  valuables  placed 
for  safety  on  board  of  his  vessels,  then  lying  there,  and  which 
were  never  claimed,  on  account  of  the  owners  being  destroyed  by 
the  blacks.  It  is  almost  needless  to  say,  that  no  reliable  evidence 
for  this  belief  has  ever  been  furnished.  On  the  contrary,  his 
books  would  seem  to  show  that  he  must  have  sustained  heavy 
losses  by  the  destruction  of  large  amounts  of  goods,  in  Cape 
Francois,  when  that  town  was  burned  by  the  insurgents,  and  by 
the  massacre  or  bankruptcy  of  many  of  the  merchants  who  were 
in  his  debt. 

His  advancement  to  great  wealth  was  henceforth  sure  and  rapid. 
During  the  period  that  intervened  between  1793  and  1812,  his 


10  BIOGRAPHY   OP    STEPHEN    GIRARD. 

business  had  extended  over  a  much  larger  field  than  hitherto.  Not 
confining  himself  as  before  to  the  commerce  of  the  West  Indies, 
or  an  occasional  voyage  to  the  south  of  Europe,  and  departing 
from  the  usual  custom  of  merchants  in  expecting  quick  returns, 
he  adopted  a  system  of  mercantile  operations  which  proved  to 
him  of  incalculable  advantage.  This  consisted  in  a  series  of  long 
voyages,  in  which,  by  repeated  exchanges  at  different  ports,  the 
venture  was  finally  returned  increased  by  these  accumulated  pro- 
fits. The  grain  or  cotton  of  this  country,  with  which  his  staunch 
ships  were  freighted,  was  exchanged  with  the  Lisbon  trader,  or  the 
merchant  of  Bordeaux,  for  the  fruits  of  the  one,  or  the  wines  of 
the  other,  in  order  to  pay  the  Russian  for  the  iron  or  hemp  which 
the  same  vessel  brought  back  to  him ;  or  the  sugar  and  coffee  of 
the  West  Indies,  furnished  him  at  Hamburg  or  Amsterdam  with 
the  outward  cargo  or  the  Spanish  dollars  which  were  to  procure 
him  at  the  Spice  islands,  Calcutta  or  Canton,  the  product  of  those 
climes,  and  thus  bring  to  his  doors  from  each  distant  portion  of  the 
globe,  the  added  riches  of  the  world.  It  was  during  this  period, 
that  he  built  the  splendid  fleet  of  vessels  which  he  principally 
named  after  distinguished  French  Philosophers,  and  which  were 
then  unexcelled  in  our  marine  for  quality  and  size.  The  Rousseau, 
the  Voltaire,  the  Helvetius,  and  the  Montesquieu,  were  among 
the  most  favored  and  most  successful  of  his  vessels. 

The  skill  and  judgment  required  in  conducting  such  complicated 
affairs,  and  the  unusual  ability  exhibited  in  the  letters  of  instruc- 
tion to  his  captains,  supercargoes,  or  consignees,  in  these  voyages, 
displaying  alike  a  thorough  knowledge  of  his  profession  and  an 
intimate  acquaintance  with  human  nature,  evidence  that  Mr.  Gi- 
rard  possessed  a  mind  and  powers  that  would  have  rendered  him 
eminent  in  any  department  of,  life,  and  that  with  the  advantages 
of  extended  education  he  would  have  been  one  of  the  most  distin- 
guished, as  he  certainly  was  one  of  the  most  remarkable  men  of 
his  time. 

In  these  letters  of  instruction,  which  are  admirable  models  of 
their  kind,  he  was  most  precise  and  particular  in  giving  directions 
for  every  contingency,  and  he  invariably  required  the  strictest  obs- 


BIOGRAPHY  OF  STEPHEN  GIRARD.  17 

dience  to  his  orders,  let  the  result  be  what  it  might.  He  was  also 
rigid  in  demanding  from  his  officers  and  men,  correct  habits  and 
conduct  while  in  his  employment.  Having  some  suspicion  of  one 
of  the  officers  of  his  ship  Voltaire,  about  to  sail  in  1815  to  Can- 
ton, he  wrote  to  Captain  Bowen,  "  I  desire  you  not  to  permit  a 
drunken  or  immoral  man  to  remain  on  board  of  your  ship.  When- 
ever such  a  man  makes  disturbance,  or  is  disagreeable  to  the  rest 
of  the  crew,  no  matter  who  he  is,  discharge  him  whenever  you 
have  the  opportunity.  And  if  any  of  my  apprentices  should  not 
conduct  themselves  properly,  I  authorize  you  to  correct  them  as  I 
would  myself.  My  intention  being,  that  they  shall  learn  their 
business,  so  after  they  are  free  they  may  be  useful  to  themselves 
and  to  their  country/' 

In  1802  he  was  elected  to  represent  his  fellow -citizens  in  the 
councils  of  Philadelphia,  and  he  continued  for  several  terms  to  serve 
them  in  that  capacity  faithfully  and  usefully.  For  over  twenty- 
two  years  he  also  discharged  the  duties  of  Warden  of  the  Port,  to 
which  office  he  was  annually  appointed  by  the  various  state  admin- 
istrations. For  although  the  absorbing  character  of  his  extensive 
business,  as  well  as  his  retiring  disposition,  prevented  him  from 
seeking  any  distinction  foreign  to  his  occupation,  yet  he  fully  re- 
cognized the  claims  that  the  Public  have  to  the  services  of  every 
citizen.  As  a  Director  of  many  public  institutions  he  also  freely 
gave  his  time,  which  to  him  really  was  money :  and  in  the  dis- 
charge of  all  these  duties  he  was  faithful,  prompt,  and  intelligent. 

About  the  year  1810,  the  funds  belonging  to  Mr.  Girard  in  the 
hands  of  Messrs.  Baring,  Brothers  and  Co.  of  London  had  in- 
creased to  nearly  one  million  of  dollars.  To  withdraw  this  large 
amount  without  danger  of  loss  was  a  task  of  no  ordinary  difficulty, 
and  his  papers  show  that  he  experienced  much  alarm  and  anxiety 
on  this  account.  Exchange  in  England  had  fallen  below  par;  the 
solvency  of  the  foreign  house  was  for  a  time  a  matter  of  great 
doubt,  and  the  difficulties  between  Great  Britain  and  this  country 
already  threatened  war.  But  by  skilful  management  he  succeeded 
safely  and  profitably  in  extricating  his  money,  principally  by  pur- 
chasing in  England  United  States  government  stock  and  shares  of 


18  BIOGRAPHY   OF    STEPHEN    GIRARD. 

the  Bank  of  the  United  States.  Having  thus  obtained  so  large 
an  interest  in  this  bank,  upon  the  expiration  of  its  charter  in  1811 
he  determined  to  become  a  banker;  and  having  in  June  1812  pur- 
chased the  banking  house  of  that  institution  he  commenced  hia 
operations.  The  business  of  the  National  Bank  and  the  funds  in 
its  vaults  remained  with  his  institution,  and  he  thus  began  hia 
new  career  with  unusual  advantages  and  prospects  of  success, 
while  at  the  same  time  the  distress  which  would  have  resulted 
from  the  abstraction  of  so  large  an  amount  of  capital  from  the 
community  was  prevented. 

He  did  not  however  permit  this  new  occupation  to  withdraw 
him  from  his  former  mercantile  pursuits.  His  trade  with  China, 
the  East  Indies,  and  other  places  east  of  the  Cape  of  Good 
Hope,  as  well  as  with  the  north  of  Europe,  was  continued  as  ex- 
tensively and  as  profitably  as  hitherto.  Although  the  skill  with 
which  he  directed  his  business  gave  his  operations  general  success, 
it  must  not  be  supposed  that  equal  good  fortune  attended  all  his 
speculations.  Occasionally  he  met  with  heavy  losses,  and  his  emi- 
nent genius  for  his  profession  was  as  strongly  shown  by  the  celeri- 
ty with  which  he  recovered  from  reverses,  as  by  his  usual  success. 
"  We  are  all  the  subjects,  (he  says  in  one  of  his  letters,)  of  what 
you  call  '  reverses  of  fortune.'  The  great  secret  is  to  make  good 
use  of  fortune,  and  when  reverses  come,  receive  them  with  '  sang 
froid/  and  by  redoubled  activity  and  economy  endeavor  to  repair 
them."  A  striking  instance  will  best  illustrate  this  trait  in  his 
character.  On  the  17th  of  December  1810,  his  fine  ship  the 
"  Montesquieu  "  sailed  from  the  port  of  Philadelphia  for  Valparaiso, 
and  thence  for  Canton,  where  she  arrived  on  the  19th  of  Feb- 
ruary 1812.  In  November  of  the  same  year,  she  sailed  from  this 
latter  place  for  Philadelphia  with  a  most  valuable  China  cargo  on 
board.  Singular  as  it  may  seem,  she  passed  through  that  immense 
extent  of  sea  without  meeting  a  British  cruiser  or  speaking  a  vessel 
that  could  inform  her  of  the  war  which  then  existed  between  Great 
Britain  and  this  country.  She  arrived  off  the  capes  of  the  Dela- 
ware on  the  night  of  the  26th  of  March  1813,  and  commenced 
discharging  guns  for  a  pilot.     This  firing  soon  attracted  the  atten- 


BIOGRAPHY  OF  STEPHEN  GIRARD.  19 

tion  of  a  small  schooner  called  "La  Paz,"  (indignantly  described 
by  Mr.  Grirard  as  about  the  size  of  a  wood-shallop,)  then  laying 
inside  the  cape  off  Lewistown,  and  which  proved  to  be  a  tender 
to  the  British  man-of-war  "Poictiers."  As  soon  as  the  light  and 
the  tide  served  in  the  morning,  this  small  and  ill-manned  craft 
pushed  out  to  sea,  and  sailing  up  to  the  unresisting  though  well- 
armed  Montesquieu,  captured  her  and  her  valuable  cargo. 

The  loss  of  this  fine  vessel  and  cargo,  neither  of  which  was  in- 
sured, at  his  very  doors,  after  passing  safely  through  all  the  perils 
of  the  sea,  was  of  course  a  severe  trial  to  Mr.  Grirard )  but  he  im- 
mediately set  about  repairing  the  disaster,  and  after  the  necessary 
negotiations  with  Sir  John  Beresford,  who  then  commanded  the 
English  squadron  in  our  waters,  he  ransomed  her  for  the  very 
large  sum  of  180,000  dollars,  which  he  paid  in  coin.  The  vessel 
was  released  and  proceeded  up  to  the  city,  and  his  calculations  and 
foresight  were  most  fully  realized  in  the  result ;  for  it  is  shown  by 
his  books,  that  notwithstanding  this  heavy  loss,  the  cargo  brought 
him  enormous  profits,  a  large  portion  of  the  teas  producing  as  high 
as  $2.14  per  pound  at  auction,  in  consequence  of  the  scarcity 
caused  by  the  war. 

Soon  after  his  arrival  at  Philadelphia,  Mr.  Girard  took  the  oath 
of  allegiance  to  the  Government,  (the  preliminary  residence  now 
required  being  then  not  necessar}^)  and  became  a  citizen  of  the 
United  States.  His  attachment  to  his  adopted  country  was  sin- 
cere and  undoubted.  In  heart  and  on  principle  a  republican,  his 
sympathies  were  soon  warmly  enlisted  for  the  land  which  had  shel- 
tered him,  and  under  whose  free  institutions  he  had  prospered. 
On  several  occasions  during  the  war  of  1812,  he  rendered  valuable 
services  to  the  government  by  placing  at  its  disposal  the  resources 
of  his  bank,  at  times  of  difficulty  and  embarrassment.  And  when, 
in  1814,  the  public  credit  was  prostrated,  and  the  resources  of  the 
country  were  sorely  taxed,  he  promptly  stepped  forward  and  sub- 
scribed  to  a  very  large  loan  which  the  administration  had  vainly 
before  sought  to  obtain.  The  sinews  of  war  were  thus  furnished, 
public  confidence  was  restored,  and  a  series  of  brilliant  victories 
resulted  in  a  peace,  to  which  he  thus  referred  in  a  letter  written 


20  BIOGRAPHY   OP    STEPHEN    GIRARD. 

in  1815  to  his  friend  Morton  of  Bordeaux ;— " The  peace  which 
has  taken  place  between  this  country  and  England,  will  consoli- 
date for  ever  our  independence  and  insure  our  tranquillity."  In 
1814,  the  government  was  unable  to  pay  the  interest  on  the  public 
debt.  Mr.  Grirard,  to  whom  the  United  States  were  indebted  in 
a  very  large  amount,  promptly  set  an  example  to  other  credi- 
tors by  writing  to  A.  J.  Dallas,  then  Secretary  of  the  Treasury, 
as  follows :  "lam  of  opinion  that  those  who  have  any  claim  for 
interest  on  public  stock,  &c,  should  patiently  wait  for  a  more 
favorable  moment,  or  at  least  receive  in  payment  treasury- notes. 
Should  you  be  under  the  necessity  of  resorting  to  either  of  those 
plans,  as  one  of  the  public  creditors,  I  shall  not  murmur." 

During  the  period  when  the  neutral  position  of  this  country 
gave  its  shipping  superior  advantages,  and  when  he  was  rigidly 
cautious  in  forbidding  his  captains  to  receive  on  his  vessels  any 
passenger  or  cargo  other  than  his  own,  his  letters  of  instruction 
almost  always  contain  the  stereotype  paragraph,  "  But  if  you  meet 
with  American  seamen  in  distress,  you  are  to  follow  my  invariable 
rule — take  them  on  board  and  bring  them  home  free  of  expense. " 
One  of  the  most  solemn  injunctions  in  his  will  is  the  direction  that 
"by  every  proper  means  a  pure  attachment  to  our  republican 
institutions,  and  to  the  sacred  rights  of  conscience,  as  guarantied 
by  our  happy  constitution,  shall  be  formed  and  fostered  in  tho 
minds  of  these  scholars." 

From  the  period  of  the  establishment,  of  his  bank,  until  his 
death,  Mr.  Girard  continued  to  prosecute  uninterruptedly  his  com- 
mercial and  banking  business.  Although  the  vast  and  compli- 
cated nature  of  these  occupations  would  have  been  sufficient  to  oc- 
cupy the  entire  attention  of  most  men,  he  found  sufficient  leisure, 
by  methodizing  his  time,  to  indulge  a  strong  fondness  for  agricul- 
tural pursuits,  by  cultivating  a  farm  in  the  neighbourhood  of  the 
city.  To  this  place  he  paid  almost  daily  visits,  directing  with 
skill  its  operations,  and  assisting  personally  in  its  labors,  and  few 
of  his  vessels  ever  sailed  for  distant  places  without  taking  out 
orders  for  choice  plants,  seeds,  or  fruit-trees,  to  adorn  and  improve 
it.     These  new  varieties  of  fruits  and  flowers  were  gradually  ex- 


BIOGRAPHY    OF    STEPHEN    GIRARD.  21 

tended  throughout  the  neigh borhood,  and  much  of  the  celebrity 
which  the  markets  of  Philadelphia  have  enjoyed  is  thus  due  to 
his  enterprise  and  love  of  such  pursuits. 

To  every  judicious  public  improvement  he  was  an  early  and 
constant  friend,  but  so  retiring  was  his  disposition,  that  when  the 
directors  of  the  Schuylkill  Navigation  Company,  wishing  to  testify 
their  gratitude  for  his  kindness  in  loaning  large  amounts  of  money, 
and  taking  large  amounts  of  stock,  by  formal  vote  requested  him 
to  sit  for  his  portrait,  to  be  preserved  in  the  archives  of  the  com- 
pany,  he  peremptorily  refused  compliance. 

Although  cautious  not  to  be  imposed  upon  in  affording 
relief,  the  heart  of  Mr.  Girard  was  not  often  closed  to  an  authen- 
tic case  of  distress.  There  is  ample  evidence  to  show  that  his 
private  charities  were  much  more  extensive  than  the  world  has 
given  him  credit  for.  Although  differing  from  the  great  majority 
of  denominations  in  his  religious  sentiments,  he  gave  freely  when 
his  assistance  was  asked  for  the  erection  of  churches  and  other 
Christian  institutions.  To  his  neighbors,  especially  when  sick, 
he  was  attentive  and  humane,  nursing  them  and  administering  to 
their  ailments,  in  which  he  had  considerable  skill,  and  in  which  he 
always  took  pleasure.  His  belief  in  the  many  simple  remedies 
with  which  he  was  in  the  habit  of  treating  the  sick,  was  accom- 
panied, as  is  not  unusual  in  such  cases,  with  a  rather  disparaging 
opinion  of  the  Medical  Profession.  In  the  annual  recurrence  of 
the  fever  which  followed  for  many  years  the  epidemic  of  1793,  and 
in  which  his  services  were  always  freely  rendered  to  the  sick  and 
poor,  he  attributed  much  of  the  severity  of  the  disease  to  the  igno- 
rance of  the  local  physicians  about  the  nature  of  the  pestilence. 
The  following  humorous  allusion  to  the  doctors  is  found  in  a  letter 
written  in  January  1799  to  his  friend  Devize,  then  in  France,  but 
who  had  been  associated  with  him  as  physician  of  the  Bush  Hill 
hospital  in  1793.  After  describing  the  effects  of  the  epidemic,  he 
says  :  — "  During  all  this  frightful  time,  I  have  constantly  remained 
in  the  city,  and  without  neglecting  my  public  duties  I  have  played 
a  part  which  will  make  you  smile.  Would  you  believe  it,  my 
friend,  that  I  have  visited  as  many  as  fifteen  sick  people  in  a  day, 


22  BIOGRAPHY   OF    STEPHEN    OIRARD. 

and  what  will  surprise  you  still  more,  I  have  lost  only  one  patient, 
an  Irishman,  who  would  drink  a  little.  I  do  not  flatter  myself 
that  I  have  cured  one  single  person,  but  you  will  think  with  me, 
that  in  my  quality  of  Philadelphia  physician  I  have  been  very 
moderate,  and  that  not  one  of  my  confreres  have  killed  fewer  than 

myself." 

As  has  been  already  stated,  his  feelings  were  early  alienated 
from  his  family,  yet  during  his  entire  life  he  supported  or  assisted 
such  of  them  as  were  in  need.  And  it  is  due  to  his  memory  to 
record  here,  that  his  books  furnish  unmistakeable  evidence,  that 
the  public  impression  which  has  usually  prevailed  on  the  subject 
of  his  want  of  kindness  to  his  relatives,  has  been  incorrect  and 
unjust. 

The  fame  of  his  large  fortune,  exaggerated  beyond  the  truth 
by  popular  rumor,  joined  to  the  absence  of  children  on  whom  to 
bestow  it,  caused  him  to  be  almost  constantly  importuned  for  assis- 
tance or  relief,  from  all  parts  of  the  country,  and  from  known  and 
unknown  sources. 

Although  it  is  reasonable  to  suppose  that  most  of  these  applica- 
tions were  destroyed  when  received,  yet  a  sufficient  number  still 
exist  to  cause  wonder  at  their  frequency,  and  excite  a  smile  at  the 
transparent  cupidity  of  their  writers.  It  is  not  known  at  what 
period  of  his  life  his  attention  was  first  directed  to  the  establish- 
ment of  an  Institution  for  Orphans,  but  there  is  reason  to  believe 
that  the  idea  had  been  entertained  for  years,  and  that  the  details 
of  its  plan  had  been  the  subject  of  long  and  careful  reflection. 

It  is  at  least  a  curious  coincidence  in  connection  with  this  sub- 
ject, that  among  his  papers  are  found  two  anonymous  letters,  in 
the  French  language,  which  were  sent  to  Mr.  Girard  in  1810, 
accompanied  by  a  copy  of  the  Testament  of  Fortune  Ricard,  to 
whose  benevolent  bequests  the  writer  earnestly  calls  his  attention. 
The  main  object  of  these  communications,  which  are  written  with 
unusual  ability,  would  seem  to  have  been  to  induce  him  to  transfer 
his  great  wealth  to  his  native  land.  For  this  purpose  they  en- 
deavor to  appeal  to  the  feeling  which  is  supposed  never  to  be 
extinguished,  of  attachment  to  the  fatherland,  and  give  a  glowing 


BIOGRAPHY    OF    STEPHEN    GIRARD.  23 

picture  of  France,  her  arts  and  arms.  They  refer  to  the  districted 
condition  of  this  country,  on  the  probable  eve  of  a  war  with  the 
most  powerful  nation  of  Europe,  in  which  the  United  States 
"  must"  be  subjugated,  and  assure  him,  that  in  the  anarchy  follow- 
ing conquest,  his  fortune  will  be  scattered  and  lost.  They  remind 
him  that  in  Europe  wealth  gives  rank  and  distinction,  while  here 
the  man  of  silver  is  not  respected,  but  only  valued.  Appealing 
to  his  well-known  love  for  agricultural  pursuits,  they  draw  a 
striking  picture  of  this  "guide  and  patron  of  all  French  mer- 
chants" located  in  the  fertile  and  beautiful  fields  of  Lancmedoe, 
the  owner  of  thousands  of  broad  acres,  of  beautiful  vineyards  and 
splendid  herds ;  and  finally  describe  him  as  dying,  after  founding  a 
magnificent  institution  of  benevolence  in  Paris — his  name  descend- 
ing to  posterity,  blessed  by  the  poor  and  homeless.  And  they 
conclude  with  this  striking  expression,  that  he  must  remember 
that  "benevolence  is  the  only  treasure  which  the  rich  man  <?an 
take  with  him  to  the  grave." 

In  his  personal  habits,  Mr.  Girard  was  a  model  of  regularity 
and  abstemiousness,  and  to  these  qualities  must  be  attributed  his 
vigorous  health,  long  life,  and  general  freedom  from  disease.  An 
early  riser,  he  devoted  the  day  most  faithfully  to  industrious  pur- 
suits, and,  as  has  been  with  justice  remarked,  his  very  relaxations 
were  mere  varieties  of  labor.  His  dwelling-house  was  under  the 
same  roof  with  his  counting-room,  in  a  narrow  street  near  the 
river,  and  in  a  locality  almost  entirely  occupied  by  stores.  The 
furniture  was  substantial  but  plain,  and  his  only  equipage  was  a 
homely  chaise  drawn  by  a  sober-looking  farm-horse.  In  his  dress 
and  personal  appearance,  he  was  as  plain  as  the  humblest  citizen, 
and  so  far  was  he  from  pride  of  purse,  that  no  stranger  could  have 
distinguished  this  possessor  of  millions  from  any  of  the  toiling 
thousands  around  him. 

There  is  no  evidence  that  he  loved  money.  The  disappoint- 
ments of  his  early  days,  and  more  particularly  the  sadness  of  his 
married  life,  with  the  absence  of  those  social  claims  and  pleasures 
which  give  to  man  his  usual  aims  and  objects,  would  seem  to  have 
rendered  business  and  the  accumulation  of  wealth  rather  a  neces- 


24  BIOGRAPHY  OF  STEPHEN  GIRARD. 

sary  occupation  than  a  source  of  delight.     No  one  who  has  had 
access  to  his  private  papers  can  fail  to  become  impressed  with  the 
belief,  that  these  early  disappointments  furnish  the  true  key  to 
his  entire  character.     Originally  of  warm  and  generous  impulses, 
the  belief  in  childhood  that  he  had  not  been  given  his  share  of 
the  love  and  kindness  which  were  extended  to  others,  changed  the 
natural  current  of  his  feelings,  and  acting  on  a  warm  and  passion- 
ate temperament,  alienated  him  from  his  home,  his  parents,  and  his 
friends.     And  when  in  after  time  there  was  superadded  the  years 
of  bitter  anguish  resulting  from  his  unfortunate  and  ill-adapted 
marriage,  rendered  even  more  poignant  by  the  necessity  of  con- 
cealment, and  the  consequent  injustice  of  public  sentiment,  and 
marring  all  his  cherished  expectations,  it  may  be  readily  under- 
stood why  constant  occupation  became  a  necessity,  and  labor  a 
pleasure.     The  accumulation  of  money  was  then  the  result,  and 
not  the  aim  of  his  labors.     In  an  action  of  law  brought  against 
his  estate  after  his  death,  a  letter  to  the  plaintiff  from  Mr.  G-irard 
was  produced  and  read.     In  it,  occur  these    striking    words;  — 
"  When  I  rise  in  the  morning,  my  only  effort  is  to  labor  so  hard 
during  the  day,  that  when  the  night  comes,  I  may  be  enabled  to 
sleep  soundly. "     What  a  vista  of  disappointed  hopes  and  broken 
ties,  what  misery  in  the  midst  of  millions,  is  presented  in  this  short 
sentence  !    Still  from  time  to  time,  the  genial  affection  with  which 
nature  had  originally  endowed  him,  beamed  forth  in  spite  of  the 
clouds  of  affliction  and  trouble.    This  was  evidenced  in  his  general 
love  for  children,  and  particularly  by  the  strong  affection  he  dis- 
played for  his  grand-niece  Caroline  Lallemand;  in  the  care  with 
which  he  nurtured  in  his  own  house,  and  educated,  the  orphan 
daughters  of  his  brother  John ;  in  his  support  for  many  years,  and 
until  their  deaths,  of  his  aunt  Lafargue,  and  his  sister  Victoire; 
in  the  assistance  extended  to  his  brother  Etienne,  and  the  kindness 
with  which  he  brought  to  this  country  and  educated  his  two  sons ; 
and   in   the    interest    he  always    displayed    for    those  who    had 
been  reared  in  his  service,  and  whose  conduct  and  character  pleased 
and    satisfied    him.       And   when    in    the    midst   of   pestilence 
and  death,  the  concealed  but  still  living  springs  of  love  for  his 


BIOGRAPHY  OF  STEPHEN  GIRARD.  25 

race  broke  forth  afresh,  no  danger  was  too  great,  and  no  service 
too  severe,  for  this  misunderstood  but  really  kind-hearted  man. 

He  thus  compared  his  own  condition  with  that  of  his  friend 
Duplessis,  in  a  letter  written  to  the  latter  in  New  Orleans  in  1804. 
(i  I  observe  with  pleasure  that  you  have  a  numerous  family,  that  you 
are  happy  and  in  the  possession  of  an  honest  fortune.  This  is  all  that 
a  wise  man  has  the  right  to  wish  for.  As  to  myself,  I  live  like  a 
galley-slave,  constantly  occupied  and  often  passing  the  night  with- 
out sleeping.  I  am  wrapped  up  in  a  labyrinth  of  affairs,  and  worn 
out  with  care.  I  do  not  value  fortune.  The  love  of  labor  is  my 
highest  ambition.  You  perceive  that  your  situation  is  a  thousand 
times  preferable  to  mine."  No  one  can  become  acquainted  from 
his  confidential  papers  with  the  scope  and  power  of  his  mind,  and 
the  grandeur  of  his  enterprises,  without  becoming  also  convinced 
that  he  was  a  most  remarkable  man,  of  penetrating  sagacity  and 
massive  intellect,  and  possessing  elements  of  greatness  of  which 
the  busy  world  around  him  was  little  aware,  when  they  regarded 
him  merely  as  a  merchant  seeking  his  profit. 

In  the  winter  of  1830,  Mr.  Girard,  while  walking  in  the  streets 
of  Philadelphia,  was  throwm  down  by  a  passing  vehicle,  and 
received  such  injuries  of  the  head,  that,  for  the  first  time,  a 
marked  failing  was  observed  in  his  physical  powers.  But  he  had 
apparently  almost  recovered  from  its  effects,  when  in  December 
1831,  he  was  attacked  by  the  influenza,  then  prevailing  epidemi- 
cally. This  soon  prostrated  him,  and  the  disease  resulting  in 
pneumonia,  it  was  before  long  evident  that  he  could  not  survive 
the  attack.  The  last  few  days  of  his  life  were  spent  in  an  uncon- 
scious state,  and  on  the  26th  day  of  December,  at  four  o'clock 
in  the  afternoon,  Mr.  Girard  ceased  to  exist. 

As  soon  as  his  death  became  known,  the  authorities  of  the  city 
convened  and  decreed  him  a  public  funeral;  the  flags  of  the 
shipping  and  public  buildings  were  displayed  at  half-mast,  and 
various  manifestations  of  regret  for  the  loss  of  a  distinguished 
and  useful  citizen,  were  exhibited  by  the  people.  His  remains, 
attended  by  an  immense  concourse  of  citizens,  and  by  all  the  pub- 
lic authorities,  were  interred,  on  the  30th  of  December,  in  the 
3 


26  BIOGRAPHY    OF    STEPHEN    G1RAIID. 

graveyard  attached  to  the  Roman  Catholic  church,  at  the  corner 
of  Spruce  and  Sixth  streets.  These  remains  were  subsequently 
removed,  and  deposited  with  fitting  ceremonies  in  the  vestibule  of 
his  College,  on  the  30th  of  September,  1851. 

Upon  an  examination  of  his  last  will  and  testament,  it  was 
found  that  his  benevolence  had  not  been  confined  to  the  Institu- 
tion which  formed  the  principal  object  of  his  bounty,  but  that  in 
addition  to  numerous  legacies  to  his  relatives  and  to  persons 
employed  in  his  service,  the  Hospital  for  the  sick,  the  Institution 
for  the  Deaf  and  Dumb,  the  Orphan's  Asylum,  the  Masonic 
Fraternity,  the  Public  Schools,  and  the  City  of  Philadelphia,  were 
all  to  receive  a  share  of  the  fortune  which  he  thus  solemnly 
devoted  to  charity  and  the  benefit  of  his  fellow-man. 

The  widely  extended  commercial  affairs  of  Mr.  Girard  were 
continued  until  the  hour  of  his  death,  and  his  executors,  upon 
taking  possession  of  his  estate,  found  upon  his  books  between 
thirty  and  forty  outstanding  mercantile  adventures  to  different 
parts  of  the  world,  many  of  which  were  of  considerable  magnitude 
The  management  and  settlement  of  the  largest  estate  which  com 
mercial  enterprise,  industry,  and  capacity,  had  ever  accumulated  in 
this  community,  required  unusual  skill  and  labor ;  but  such  were 
the  intelligence  and  ability  of  the  gentlemen  to  whom  he  had  con- 
fided this  duty,  that  his  vast  affairs  were  conducted  to  a  successfu* 
issue,  without  material  loss  or  delay. 

Mr.  Grirard  directed  that  the  business  of  his  bank  should  be 
settled  apart  from  that  of  his  individual  estate,  and  for  this  pur- 
pose in  February  1826  he  had  executed  a  deed  of  assignment,  to 
take  effect  upon  the  day  of  his  death,  authorizing  his  Trustees  to 
take  immediate  possession  of  all  the  assests  of  the  bank,  and  proceed 
to  close  its  affairs  as  speedily  as  possible,  and  transfer  the  effects 
which  remained  to  his  executors  as  a  part  of  his  estate.  The 
unusual  difficulty  of  this  service  may  be  inferred  from  the  fact, 
that  on  entering  upon  their  duties,  his  Trustees  found  a  statement 
which  had  been  made  up  to  the  Saturday  preceding  his  death,  from 
which  it  appeared,  that  his  estate  was  liable  on  demand  for  909,841 
dollars,  while  to  meet  these  claims  only  17,350  dollars  in  specie 


BIOGRAPHY   OF    STEPHEN    GIRARD.  27 

were  found  in  the  vaults  of  the  bank.  Their  attention  was  next 
directed  to  the  debts  due  to  the  institution,  which  were  ascertained 
to  amount  to  3,479,961  dollars.  At  this  period  an  unusual  pres- 
sure existed  in  the  money-market,  and  to  abstract  so  large  an 
amount  by  proceeding  to  collect  it  forthwith,  would  have  resulted 
in  the  most  ruinous  consequences  to  the  commercial  community, 
while  at  the  same  time  it  was  indispensable  to  guard  against  a 
refusal  to  pay  any  demand  on  the  bank.  They  managed  however 
this  delicate  duty  with  ability  and  fidelity,  and  the  affairs  of  the 
institution  were  closed  without  producing  distress  or  embarrass- 
ment to  its  debtors,  or  causing  delay  or  injustice  to  its  creditors. 

In  selecting  his  trustees  and  executors,  Mr.  Grirard  exhibited  an 
additional  proof  of  that  discernment  and  knowledge  of  mankind 
which  had  marked  his  previous  career,  by  choosing  gentlemen 
whose  integrity  and  position  insured  confidence  in  the  discharge  of 
their  duties,  and  whose  business  capacity  enabled  them  to  con- 
duct to  a  favorable  termination  the  complicated  affairs  of  his  long 
and  arduous  life,  without  material  dispute,  and  with  promptitude 
and  satisfaction  to  all  concerned. 

His  fortune,  which  amounted  to  about  7,500,000  dollars,  was 
disposed  of  in  the  following  manner.  For  the  erection  and  endow- 
ment of  his  College,  he  gave  2,000,000  dollars;  to  different  Insti- 
tutions of  Charity  in  and  about  Philadelphia,  116,000  dollars;  to 
his  relatives  and  next  of  kin,  140,000  dollars;  to  the  city  of  Phil- 
adelphia for  the  improvement  of  its  eastern  front,  500,000  dollars ; 
to  the  Commonwealth  of  Pennsylvania  for  internal  improvements, 
300,000  dollars;  to  sundry  friends  or  persons  who  had  been  in 
his  employment,  annuities  representing  a  principal  sum  of  65,000 
dollars ;  and  he  also  bequeathed  various  legacies  to  apprentices  and 
servants,  and  to  those  of  his  captains  who  would  bring  his  vessels 
safely  into  port.  He  also  devised  to  the  cities  of  New  Orleans 
and  Philadelphia  280,000  acres  of  land,  situated  in  the  state  of 
Louisiana;  but  this  land  was  subsequently  lost  to  the  legatees  by 
a  decision  of  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States.  The  resi- 
due of  his  wealth  was  devised  to  the  City  of  Philadelphia  for  the 
following  purposes ;  1st,  for  the  improvement  and  maintenance  of 


28  BIOGRAPHY    OF    STEPHEN    GIRARD. 

his  College ;  2d,  for  the  establishment  of  a  better  system  of  police ; 
and  3d,  to  improve  the  city  and  diminish  taxation. 

The  estimate  which  his  fellow-citizens  placed  upon  his  character, 
may  be  best  learned  by  the  following  extract  from  the  eloquent 
resolutions  adopted  by  the  councils  of  Philadelphia  at  the  time 
of  his  death.  "Contemplating  the  humility  of  his  origin,  and 
contrasting  therewith  the  variety  and  extent  of  his  works  and 
wealth,  the  mind  is  filled  with  admiration  of  the  man,  and  pro- 
foundly impressed  with  the  value  of  his  example.  Numerous  and 
solid  as  the  edifices  are,  which  he  constructed  in  the  city  and  vicin- 
ity of  Philadelphia,  they  will  contribute  but  a  transitory  record  of 
what  he  was,  when  compared  with  the  moral  influence  that  must 
arise  from  a  knowledge  of  the  merits,  and  means,  by  which  he 
acquired  his  immense  estate.  These  merits  and  means,  were  pro- 
bity of  the  strictest  kind,  diligence  unsurpassed,  perseverance  in 
all  pursuits,  and  a  frugality  as  remote  from  parsimony  as  from 
extravagance.  The  goodness  of  his  heart  was  not  manifested  by 
ostentatious  subscription  or  loud  profession ;  but  when  pestilence 
stalked  abroad,  he  risked  his  life  to  preserve  from  its  ravages  the 
most  humble  of  his  fellow-citizens,  and  wherever  sorrow,  unaccom- 
panied by  immorality,  appeared  at  his  door,  it  was  thrown  wide 
open.  His  person,  his  home,  and  his  habits  evinced  the  love  of 
what  was  simple,  and  he  was  a  devoted  friend  to  those  principles 
of  civil  and  religious  liberty  which  are  the  basis  of  the  political 
fabric  of  his  adopted  country." 

Howitt,  in  his  "  Homes  and  Haunts  of  the  Poets,"  describes  in 
the  following  sentence  the  benevolence  of  such  philanthropists  as 
Stephen  Grirard,  and  although  referring  specially  to  the  old  mer- 
chant who  founded,  at  Bristol,  the  school  at  which  the  "  marvellous 
boy,"  Chatterton,  received  his  education,  the  extract  is  a  truthful 
and  fitting  conclusion  to  this  brief  Biography  of  the  dead  mariner 
and  merchant,  who  also  like  Edward  Colston,  thus  has  "  made  his 
riches  do  his  generous  will  for  ever."  "  You  cannot  help  feeling 
the  grand  benevolence  of  those  wealthy  merchants  who  make 
their  riches  do  their  generous  will  for  ever ;  who  become  thereby 
the  actual  Fathers  of  their  Cities  to  all  generations ;  who  roll  in 


BIOGRAPHY    OF    STEPHEN    GIRAFvD  29 

every  year  of  the  world's  progress  some  huge  stone  of  anxiety 
from  the  hearts  of  poor  widows;  who  clear  the  way  before  the 
unfriended  but  active  and  worthy  lad ;  who  put  forth  their  invisi- 
ble hands  from  the  heaven  of  their  rest,  and  become  the  genuine 
guardian  angels  of  the  orphan  race,  forever  and  ever;  raising  from 
those  who  would  otherwise  have  been  outcasts  and  ignorant 
laborers,  aspiring  and  useful  men,  tradesmen  of  substance,  mer- 
chants the  true  enrichers  of  their  country,  and  fathers  of  happy 
families.  How  glorious  is  such  a  lot !  How  noble  is  such  an 
appropriation  of  wealth  !     How  enviable  is  such  a  Fame  I" 

In  the  following  pages  will  be  found  a  detailed  account  of  the 
erection  and  organization  of  that  magnificent  edifice  and  its 
dependent  buildings,  which  now  form  perhaps  the  most  interesting 
object  in  the  vicinity  of  Philadelphia,  if  not  in  all  the  United 
States ;  and  which  seem  destined,  from  the  almost  imperishable 
nature  of  their  structure  as  well  as  their  ample  and  well-secured 
endowment,  to  carry  forward  into  an  indefinite  future  the  benefi- 
cent intentions  of  the  wise  and  far-seeing  "  Mariner  and  Merchant." 


HISTORY   OF  THE    COLLEGE 

AND 

ITS  PLAN  OF  ORGANIZATION  AND  DISCIPLINE. 


Mr.  Girard  died  on  the  2Gtli  of  December,  1831.  As  soon  as 
his  executors  had  advanced  sufficiently  far  in  the  settlement  of 
his  largo  estate  to  authorize  the  undertaking,  the  Councils  of  Phil- 
adelphia, who  were  selected  by  him  as  his  trustees,  took  the  neces- 
sary steps  to  carry  out  his  intentions.  Accordingly,  on  the  11th 
of  February  1833,  they  elected  a  Board  of  Directors,  to  superin- 
tend the  organization  and  management  of  the  College  in  conformity 
with  his  will. 

This  board,  which  consisted  of  eighteen  of  the  most  prominent 
citizens  of  Philadelphia,  organized  on  the  18th  of  the  same  month 
by  the  election  of  Nicholas  Biddle  as  chairman,  and  immediately 
entered  upon  the  discharge  of  their  duties.  As  the  ordinance 
creating  a  Board  of  Directors  conferred  no  power  with  regard  to 
the  construction  of  an  edifice  for  the  College,  the  Councils  on  the 
21st  of  March  appointed  a  sub-committee  of  their  body,  to  be 
called  the  "  Building  Committee/'  who  with  eight  members  of  the 
Board  of  Directors,  and  the  architect,  were  instructed  to  prepare 
a  plan  for  the  College  Building. 

The  joint  committee  met  on  the  18th  of  April  1833,  and  after 
due  examination,  determined  that  the  designs  which  had  previously 
been  received  from  all  parts  of  the  United  States  in  competition 
for  the  premium  offered,  should  be  set  aside,  and  Thomas  U.  Wal- 
ter Esq.,  who  had  been  elected  the  architect,  was  instructed  to 
prepare  a  plan  of  the  Main  Building,  with  a  portico  extending 
around  the  entire  structure,  and  conforming  in  the  dimensions  and 

(30) 


HISTORY    OF    THE    COLLEGE.  31 

form  of  the  Ceila,  or  body  of  the  building,  to  the  directions  laid 
down  in  the  will  of  Mr.  Girard. 

The  design  prepared  by  this  gentleman,  substantially  the  pre- 
sent edifice,  was  approved  by  Councils  on  the  29th  of  April,  and 
excavations  for  the  foundations  having  been  commenced  on  the 
6th  of  May  following,  the  corner-stone  of  the  College  was  laid 
with  fitting  ceremonies  on  the  4th  of  July,  1833. 

The  main  edifice,  and  out-buildings,  were  completed  and  trans- 
ferred to  the  Directors  on  the  13th  of  November  1847,  making 
fourteen  years  and  six  months  as  the  entire  period  occupied  in  the 
execution  of  the  work. 

The  total  amount  expended  for  this  construction,  not  including 
the  western  out-building  which  has  since  been  erected  at  a  cost  of 
20,000  dollars,  was  1,933,821.78  dollars.  If  no  depreciation  had 
taken  place  in  the  value  of  the  stocks  and  loans,  originally  set 
apart  by  the  Commissioners  for  the  Girard  Estate  to  constitute  a 
Fund,  a  large  surplus  would  have  remained  to  support  the  Institu- 
tion )  and  if  the  same  rate  of  interest  had  continued  which  was 
accruing  aj:  the  time  of  the  transfer,  the  College-Fund  would  have 
amounted  to  1,500,000  dollars,  after  deducting  the  whole  cost  of 
the  work.  But  during  the  years  1841-2—3-4,  the  stocks  depre- 
ciated immensely  in  value,  and  it  became  finally  necessary,  in 
order  to  complete  the  work,  to  draw  on  the  residuary  fund,  thus 
causing  also  considerable  delay  in  the  progress  of  the  work. 

The  following  condensed  statements  exhibits  the  amounts  appro- 
priated and  expended  in  the  construction  of  the  College. 

On  the  20th  of  April  1833,  the  Commissioners  of  the  Girard 
Estates  set  apart  the  following  stocks  and  loans,  to  constitute  the 
College  Fund,  viz.: — 

G331  Shares  of  stock  in  the  Bank  of  the  United 

States $664,715.00 

8  Certificates  of  loan— Pennsylvania 1,221,785.00 

1  Certificate  of  City  Corporation 113,500.00 

Making $2,000,000.00 


32  HISTORY    OF    THE    COLLEGE. 

Total  amount  of  interest  which  accrued  from  time 
to   time,    on    the  unexpended   portions    of  the 

Fund $854,536.21 

Cash  received  from  sale  of  refused  materials 1,587.20 

Amount  taken  from  residuary  Fund,  to  complete 

the  College 31,525.11 

$2,887,648.52 

Amount  expended  for  building  College $1,933,821.78 

Loss  on  sale  of  stocks  at  Executors'  valuation 900,813.30 

Amount  expended  by  the  Trustees  and  Directors 
unconnected  with  the  building  of  the  Col- 
lege  51,835.22 

Unexpended  balance  of  appropriation 1,178.22 

$2,887,64s75lT 

During  the  progress  of  the  Building,  an  unsuccessful  effort  was 
made  by  the  next  of  kin  to  Mr.  Girard,  to  defeat  the  intentions 
of  the  Testator,  by  alleging  that  the  Institution  was  i]legal  and 
immoral,  and  by  laying  claim  to  the  fund  appropriated  for  its 
establishment.  As  a  portion  of  the  History  of  the  College,  a 
brief  reference  to  this  incident  may  be  interesting.  Among  the 
private  legatees  in  his  will,  the  Testator  named  his  brother  Etienne 
and  children,  and  the  children  of  his  sister  Sophia,  and  brother 
John  Girard.  The  several  legacies  so  bequeathed  were  paid  to 
the  legatees,  before  the  expiration  of  a  year  after  the  Testator's 
death.  After  these  legacies  had  been  paid,  the  same  parties  who 
claimed  to  be  heirs  and  next  of  kin  instituted  an  action  of  eject- 
ment in  the  Supreme  Court  of  Pennsylvania,  to  recover  from  the 
city  all  real  estate  purchased  by  Mr.  Girard  after  the  date  of  the 
last  republication  of  the  will.  Under  the  laws  of  Pennsylvania, 
which  at  that  time  did  not  pass  under  a  general  devise  after- 
acquired  property,  they  obtained  judgment,  and  recovered  from 
the  city  the  real  estate  purchased  between  the  dates  of  the  republi- 
cation and  his  death.  Subsequently,  they  filed  a  bill  on  the 
equity  side  of  the  Circuit  Court,  which  was  afterwards  removed 


HISTORY    OF    THE    COLLEGE.  33 

on  appeal  to  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States,  in  which 
they  laid  claim  not  only  to  the  specific  fund  for  the  endowment  of 
the  College,  but  also  to  the  whole  residuary  portion  of  the  Testa- 
tor's estate. 

The  main  ground  recited  in  the  bill  was  that  the  trusts  for  the 
Orphan  College  were  absolutely  void;  1st,  because  as  to  the  real 
estate,  the  city  had  no  capacity  to  take  by  devise ;  2d,  that  if 
they  had  such  capacity  generally,  they  could  not  take  it  in  trust 
for  other  persons;  and  3d,  that  they  could  not  take  either  real  01 
personal  property  upon  the  trusts  which  were  declared  for  poor 
orphan  children,  &c,  because  the  objects  of  the  charity  were 
altogether  indefinite,  vague,  and  uncertain;  and  therefore  the 
trusts  were  incapable  of  execution,  or  of  being  cognizable  at  law 
or  equity,  or  of  vesting  at  law  in  any  existing  or  possible  cestui 
que  trust.  Although  not  specifically  set  forth  in  the  bill,  yet  the 
following  portion  of  the  will  was  relied  upon  as  a  most  important 
portion  of  the  argument  to  invalidate  the  intentions  of  the  Testa- 
tor. "I  enjoin  and  require  that  no  Ecclesiatic,  Missionary,  or 
minister  of  any  sect  whatsoever,  shall  ever  hold  or  exercise  any 
station  or  duty  whatever  in  the  said  College ;  nor  shall  any  such 
person  ever  be  admitted  for  any  purpose,  or  as  a  visitor,  within 
the  premises  appropriated  to  the  purposes  of  the  said  College. 
In  making  this  restriction,  I  do  not  mean  to  cast  any  reflection 
upon  any  sect  or  person  whatsoever ;  but,  as  there  is  such  a  multi- 
tude of  sects,  and  such  a  diversity  of  opinion  amongst  them,  I 
desire  to  keep  the  tender  minds  of  the  orphans,  who  are  to  derive 
advantage  from  this  bequest,  free  from  the  excitement  which 
clashing  doctrines  and  sectarian  controversy  are  so  apt  to  produce. 
My  desire  is,  that  all  the  instructors  and  teachers  in  the  College 
shall  take  pains  to  instil  into  the  minds  of  the  scholars  the  purest 
principles  of  morality,  so  that  on  their  entrance  into  active  life, 
they  may  from  inclination  and  habit,  evince  benevolence  towards 
their  fellow-creatures,  and  a  love  of  truth,  sobriety,  and  industry, 
adopting  at  the  same  time  such  religious  tenets  as  their  matured 
reason  may  enable  them  to  prefer." 

It  was  objected,  that  the  foundation  of  the  College  upon  these 


34  HISTORY    OF    THE    COLLEGE 

principles  and  exclusions,  was  derogatory  aud  hostile  to  the  Chris- 
tian religion,  and  was  void,  as  being  against  the  common  law  and 
public  policy;  first,  because  of  the  exclusion  of  all  ecclesiastics, 
missionaries,  and  ministers  of  any  sect,  and  secondly,  because  it 
limits  the  instruction  to  be  given  to  the  scholars  to  pure  morality 
and  general  benevolence,  and  to  a  love  of  truth,  sobriety,  and 
industry,  thereby 'excluding  by  implication  all  instruction  in  the 
Christian  religion.  The  cause  was  first  argued  before  the  Supreme 
Court  at  January  Term  1843  by  Mr.  Stump  and  Mr.  Jones  of 
Washington  on  behalf  of  the  Grirard  heirs,  and  by  Mr.  Sergeant 
for  the  city ;  but  the  Judges  thinking  that  it  was  proper  to  re-hear 
the  cause  before  a  fuller  court,  a  re-argument  was  ordered  and 
took  place  at  January  Term  1844,  where  Mr.  Jones  and  Mr. 
Webster  appeared  for  the  complainants,  and  Mr.  Binney  and  Mr. 
Sergeant  for  the  City  and  Executors. 

The  unanimous  decision  of  the  Court  was  delivered  by  Mr.  Jus- 
tice Story,  establishing  in  an  elaborate  opinion  that  the  trust  and 
charity  were  valid  and  legal,  and  that  there  was  nothing  in  the 
devise  creating  the  College,  or  in  the  regulations  and  restrictions 
contained  therein,  which  is  inconsistent  with  the  Christian  religion 
or  opposed  to  any  known  policy  of  the  State. 

During  the  progress  of  the  Building,  the  Board  of  Directors 
deemed  it  advisable  to  select  a  presiding  officer  of  the  Institution 
in  advance  of  its  organization,  who  would  prepare  a  system  of  dis- 
cipline and  instruction  for  the  College  in  anticipation  of  its  speedy 
completion.  Having  obtained  the  necessary  authority  from  Coun- 
cils, they  accordingly  on  the  19th  of  July  1836  elected  Alexander 
Dallas  Bache  of  the  City  of  Philadelphia  the  first  President  of 
the  College,  with  instructions  to  visit  similar  Institutions  in  Eu- 
rope, and  to  procure  such  books  and  apparatus  as  should  be  needed 
in  its  organization.  Upon  the  return  of  President  Bache  in  1838, 
efforts  were  made  by  the  Board  to  establish  schools  preparatory  to 
the  completion  of  the  College,  which  it  was  now  found  would 
require  several  years  to  finish ;  but  in  consequence  of  the  opinion 
of  competent  legal  authority,  that  the  organization  of  the  Institu- 


HISTORY    OF   THE   COLLEGE.  35 

lion  before  the  completion  of  the  buildings  would  be  in  violation 
of  the  will,  the  requisite  permission  was  not  granted. 

Soon  after  this  period,  difficulties  arose  between  Councils  and 
the  Directors,  which  resulted  ultimately  in  the  repeal  both  of  the 
ordinance  creating  the  Board,  and  that  authorizing  the  election  of 
a  President. 

From  this  period,  until  its  completion,  the  budlding  committee 
continued  to  have  charge  of  the  erection  of  the  College,  and  in 
June  1847,  the  edifice  being  then  nearly  finished,  a  new  Board  of 
Directors  was  again  appointed  to  organize  and  manage  the  Insti- 
tution. The  anomalous  character  of  the  College,  and  the  absence 
of  any  light  which  entirely  similar  institutions  would  have  afforded, 
rendered  this  duty  one  of  great  delicacy,  as  well  as  unusual  diffi- 
culty. To  the  earnest  labor  and  skill  of  the  gentlemen  composing 
this  Board,  is  justly  due  the  credit  of  devising  a  plan,  under  which 
the  College  was  successfully  put  in  operation,  and  has  since  been 
prosperously  conducted. 

The  buildings  were  formally  transferred  to  the  Directors  on  the 
13th  of  November  1847;  on  the  15th  of  December  following, 
the  necessary  officers  and  agents  were  elected,  the  Hon.  Joel 
Jones,  then  President  Judge  of  the  District  Court  for  the  City 
and  County  of  Philadelphia,  being  selected  as  the  President,  and 
on  the  1st  of  January  1848,  the  College  was  opened  with  fitting 
ceremonies,  with  a  class  of  one  hundred  orphans  who  had  been 
previously  admitted.  On  the  1st  of  October  of  the  same  year, 
one  hundred  additional  boys  were  introduced,  and  on  the  1st  of 
April  of  the  following  year,  a  third  class  of  one  hundred  pupils 
was  admitted.  Since  then,  from  time  to  time,  as  vacancies  have 
occurred,  other  orphans  have  been  admitted  to  supply  their  places. 

On  the  1st  of  June  1849,  Judge  Jones  resigned  the  office  of 
President  of  the  College,  and  on  the  23d  of  November  of  the  same 
year,  William  H.  Allen, LL.D.  then  professor  of  Mental  Philos- 
ophy and  English  Literature  in  Dickinson  College,  Pennsylvania, 
was  duly  elected  to  fill  the  vacancy.  ,This  gentleman  having  ac- 
cepted the  appointment,  was  duly  installed  on  the  1st  of  January 
1850,  and  has  since  continued  at  the  head  of  the  Institution. 


36  HISTORf    OF    THE    COLLEGE. 

While  the  Councils  of  the  city  of  Philadelphia,  as  Trustees  of 
Mr.  Girard's  will,  still  retain  the  general  supervision  of  the 
Institution,  the  immediate  government  of  the  College  is  vested  in 
a  Board  of  Directors,  composed  of  sixteen  citizens  of  Philadelphia, 
four  of  whom  are  annually  elected  by  the  Select  and  Common 
Councils.  This  Board  holds  stated  monthly  meetings,  and  is  sub- 
divided into  various  standing  committees,  who  have  respectively 
charge  of  the  principal  departments  of  the  Institution,  such  as 
Instruction,  Household.  Admission  and  Discharge,  &c.  It  is  also 
empowered  to  make  llulcs  for  the  government  of  the  Institution, 
to  decide  the  course  of  Instruction,  to  elect  the  necessary  officers 
and  agents,  to  control  the  expenditures,  and  to  determine  the 
question  of  Admission  and  Discharge  of  Pupils.  The  will  of 
Mr.  Girard  provides  that  the  Institution  shall  be  for  the  benefit 
of  "  poor  white  male  orphan  "  children.  In  the  absence  of  a 
more  specific  description  of  those  for  whom  the  Testator  intended 
the  advantages  of  his  College,  the  first  Board  of  Trustees  decided, 
under  legal  advice,  that  the  term  u  Orphan"  should  be  defined  "  a 
Fatherless  child."  In  eleemosynary  Institutions  in  Great  Britain 
and  on  the  Continent,  this  definition  is  generally  recognized  as  its 
meaning;  and  according  to  our  laws,  the  Father  is  the  Parent  on 
whom  the  duties  of  education  and  nurture  are  devolved,  and 
whose  decease  may  therefore  most  naturally  give  rise  to  the  state 
of  orphanage.  But  a  still  stronger  reason  for  this  construction, 
was  the  belief  that  Mr.  Girard  had  attached  this  sense  to  the 
word  in  the  preparation  of  his  will.  This  decision  has,  therefore, 
become  the  rule  of  the  Institution,  and  the  admissions  to  the 
College  are  thus  not  confined  to  those  who  in  the  general  accepta- 
tion of  the  word  are  orphans,  but  includes  also  such  children  as 
have  lost  by  death  the  male  parent. 

If  at  any  time  there  are  more  applicants  than  vacancies,  a 
preference  is  given  by  the  will,  1st,  to  orphans  born  in  the  city  of 
Philadelphia;  2dly,  to  those  born  in  any  other  part  of  Pennsylvania; 
3dly,  to  those  born  in  the  city  of  New  York;  and  lastly,  to  those 
born  in  the  city  of  New  Orleans.  The  preference  to  those  born 
in  the  city  of  Philadelphia  is  defined  strictly  to  include  the  city 


HISTORY    OF    THE    COLLEGE.  37 

proper  alone,  and  does  not  extend  to  the  Districts,  which  in  this 
respect  have  no  rights  over  any  other  portion  of  the  state.  There 
is  no  reason  to  believe  that  there  will  be  at  any  time  admission 
for  children  born  out  of  Pennsylvania,  as  the  applications  from 
that  State  have  hitherto  been  many  more  than  sufficient  to  fill  all 
vacancies. 

To  be  qualified  for  admission,  orphans  must  be  between  the 
ages  of  six  and  ten  years,  and  no  application  is  received  for  admis- 
sion of  a  child  before  he  attains  the  first  named  age ;  nor  can  he 
be  admitted  into  the  College  after  becoming  ten  years  of  age, 
although  the  application  has  been  made  previously.  Applications 
for  admission  are  received  on  the  first  Monday  of  each  month,  at 
the  office,  No.  9  South  Fifth  street,  between  the  hours  of  9  A.  M. 
and  2  P.  M.  The  mother,  or  next  friend,  appearing  for  such 
purpose,  is  required  to  produce  the  marriage  certificate,  (or  in  its 
absence  some  other  satisfactory  evidence,)  and  also  the  certificate 
of  the  physician  setting  forth  the  time  and  place  of  birth. 

Answers  to  the  questions  contained  in  the  following  form,  are 
also  required  to  be  made  in  writing,  and  these  statements  must 
likewise  be  vouched  for  by  respectable  citizens  acquainted  with 
the  facts. 

[FORM  OF  APPLICATION.] 
To  the  Directors  of  the  Girard  College  for  Orphans. 

The  undersigned  [mother,  relative  or  friend,  as  the  case  may 
be]  of  having  duly  considered  the  information 

given,  by  the  Directors  of  the  Grirard  College  for  Orphans,  to  those 
who  may. desire  to  place  poor  white  male  orphan  children  therein, 
hereby  applies  for  the  admission  of  the  said  into 

the  College,  he  being  a  poor,  white,  male  orphan,  between  the  ages 
of  six  and  ten  years.     The  undersigned,  in  answers  to  the 

several  questions,  in  the  list  hereto  appended,  gives  an  accurate 
statement  of  facts,  and  desires  that  those  answers  may  be  consid- 
ered as  if  they  were  statements  made  herein. 

[Name  of  Applicant.] 
4  [Residence,  and  date  of  application.] 


38 


FORM    OF   APPLICATION. 


QUESTIONS. 

1 .  What  is  the  name  of  the  poor 
white  male  orphan,  for  whose 
admission  into  the  Girard  Col- 
lege the  above  application  is 
made? 

ANSWERS. 

1.  [State  the  name  in  full.] 

2.     When  was  he  born  ? 

2.  [State  the  day,  month,  and 
year.] 

3.     Where  was  he  born  ? 

3. 

4.     What  was  his  father's  name, 
and  when  and  where  did  he 
die? 

4. 

5.     Is  his  mother  living,  and  if 
she  is,  what  is  her  name,  and 
where  does  she  reside  ? 

5. 

6.     Is  he  sound  in  mind  and  bo- 
dy, and  what  diseases  has  he 
had? 

G. 

7.     What  has  been  his  general 
moral  conduct  ? 

7. 

8.     Has  he  had  any  education  ? 

8. 

9.     Are    there    any   pecuniary 
means   at  the  disposal  of  his 
mother,  or  other  person,  for 
his   maintenance   and   educa- 
tion? 

9. 

FORM    OF    APPLICATION 


39 


QUESTIONS. 

10.  By  whom,  or  on  what  means 
has  he  Been  maintained  since 
the  death  of  his  father  ? 

10. 

ANSWERS. 

11.  What  was  his 
pation  or  trade  ? 

father's 

occu- 

11. 

12. 

12. 

13. 

13. 

14. 

14. 

15. 

15. 

16. 

16. 

The  undersigned  believe  that  confidence  may  be  placed  in  the 
foregoing  representation,  made  by  ,  who 

applies  for  the  admission  of  as  a  pool 

white  male  orphan  child  into  the  Girard  College. 

When  vacancies  occur,  the  cases  of  applicants  are  considered 
strictly  according  to  priority  of  application,  and  if  found  to  come 
within  the  provisions  and  intentions  of  the  will,  the  orphan  is  ad- 
mitted upon  the  execution  by  the  mother  or  next  friend  of  the 
following  indenture  : — 

Whereas,  is  a  poor  white  male  orphau 

between  the  ages  of  six  and  ten  years,  having  been  born  on  the 

day  of  in  the  year 

at  in  :  And  whereas, 

has  applied  for  his  admission  into  the 


40  FORM    OF    INDENTURE. 

Girard  College  for  Orphans,  and  the  Directors  thereof  have  assented 
thereto  :  Now  this  Indenture  WITNESSETH,  that  the  Guardians 
for  the  Relief  and  Employment  of  the  Poor  of  the  City  of  Philadel- 
phia, the  District  of  South  wark,  and  the  Townships  of  the  Northern 
Liberties  and  Penn,  by  the  authority  of  an  Act  of  the  General  As- 
sembly of  the  Commonwealth  of  Pennsylvania,  passed  on  the  27th 
day  of  February,  1847,  entitled  "  An  Act  relative  to  the  Girard 
College  for  Orphans,"  do  hereby,  with  the  consent  of 
which  consent  is  signified  by  signing  and  scaling  these  pre- 

sents, bind  the  said  to  the  Mayor,  Aldermen  and 

Citizens  of  Philadelphia,  and  their  successors,  as  trustees  under  the 
will  of  Stephen  Girard,  deceased,  aa  an  orphan  to  be  admitted  into 
the  said  College,  to  be  there  maintained  and  educated  according  to 
the  provisions,  and  in  the  manner  and  under  all  the  regulations 
and  restrictions  specified  in  the  said  will,  and  under  such  others  as 
the  Mayor,  Aldermen  and  Citizens  of  Philadelphia  may  lawfully 
ordain  under  the  said  will;  and  the  said  orphan  shall 

abide  by  and  submit  to  all  such  provisions,  regulations  and  restric- 
tions :  and  the  Mayor,  Aldermen  and  Citizens  of  Philadelphia, 
hereby  covenant,  agree  and  declare  to  and  with  the  Guardians 
aforesaid,  that  the  said  orphan  shall  be  entitled 

to  have  and  receive  all  the  benefits  of  the  said  College  according 
to  the  will  of  the  said  Stephen  Girard.    In  testimony  whereof, 
the  said  parties  to  this  indenture  have  respectively  caused  their 
corporate  seals  to  be  hereunto  affixed,  and  the  said 
hath  hereunto  set  hand  and  seal  this  day 

of  in  the  year 

Sealed  and  delivered  in" 
the  presence  of 


Orphans  thus  admitted,  are  fed,  clothed,  and  educated  entirely 
by  the  Institution.  No  uniform  or  distinctive  dress  is  permitted 
to  be  worn.     Although  residing  permanently  in  the  College,  they 


EDUCATION  OF  THE  SCHOLARS.  41 

are  allowed  at  stated  times  to  visit  their  friends  at  their  homes, 
and  to  receive  visits  from  their  friends  at  the  College. 

If  by  malconduct  a  pupil  becomes  an  unfit  companion  for  the 
rest,  the  right  to  dismiss  him  summarily  is  vested  in  the  Directors. 

Those  scholars  who  may  merit  it,  remain  in  the  College  until 
they  arrive  at  between  fourteen  and  eighteen  years  of  age,  at  the 
discretion  of  the  Board,  when  they  are  indentured  by  the  Institu- 
tion on  behalf  of  the  "  Mayor,  Aldermen  and  Citizens  of  Philadel- 
phia," to  learn  some  suitable  occupation  or  trade,  until  they  become 
twenty-one  years  of  age,  consulting  as  far  as  is  judicious  the  incli- 
nation and  preference  of  the  scholar. 

The  immediate  direction  and  government  of  the  College  is 
vested  in  the  President,  who  is  the  chief  executive  officer  of  the 
Institution,  and  who  is  responsible  for  its  proper  administration. 
The  subordinate  officers  are  under  his  sole  control,  and  are  respon- 
sible to  him  for  the  performance  of  their  duties  and  the  condition 
of  their  departments. 

The  household  is  under  the  care  of  a  Matron,  Assistant-Matron, 
four  Prefects  and  five  governesses,  who  superintend  the  moral  and 
social  character  and  conduct  of  the  orphans,  and  who  administer 
the  discipline  of  the  Institution  at  all  times  when  the  pupils  are 
not  in  the  schools.  These  officers  have  charge  of  the  Dormitories, 
Refectories,  Lavatories,  Section  or  Study-rooms,  where  the  school 
lessons  are  prepared,  and  the  Play-grounds.  For  the  purpose  of 
better  discipline,  the  scholars  are  subdivided  into  sections,  which 
have  assigned  to  them  distinct  officers,  buildings,  and  play-grounds. 

The  schools  are  conducted  principally,  but  not  entirely,  in  the 
main  College  Building.  Five  Professors  and  male  instructors,  and 
seven  female  teachers,  are  employed  in  the  duties  of  instruction, 
and  the  course  of  education  at  present  embraces  three  main  divi- 
sions, termed  Primary  School  No.  2,  Primary  School  No.  1,  and 
the  Principal  Department.  As  a  large  proportion  of  the  orphans 
admitted  into  the  College  have  had  little  or  no  preparatory 
education,   the   instruction   in    the   first-named  of   these  schools 

commences  with  the  Alphabet,  and  includes  Spelling,  Reading 
4  * 


42  EDUCATION  OF  THE  SCHOLARS. 

Writing,  Arithmetic,  Notation  and  Tables,  Grammar,  and  Geogra- 
phy, the  two  latter  being  taught  orally. 

In  Primary  School  No.  1,  the  scholar  who  has  been  promoted 
from  the  lower  department,  or  whose  education  at  the  time  of  his 
admission  enabled  him  to  enter  it,  is  instructed  in  Orthography, 
Punctuation,  Reading,  Writing,  Grammar  and  Composition,  Geo- 
graphy, Mental  and  Written  Arithmetic,  commencing  with  Vulgar 
Fractions,  Etymology,  History  (of  the  United  States  and  England,) 
French,  and  Drawing.  The  Text  Books,  as  well  as  the  system  of 
Instruction,  are  of  a  higher  grade  than  those  in  use  in  Primary 
No.  2. 

In  the  Principal  Department,  the  Pupils  receive  instruction  in 
Reading,  Grammar  and  Composition,  Arithmetic,  Algebra,  Geom- 
etry, Trigonometry,  Surveying,  Mensuration  and  Astronomy, 
Ancient  and  Modern  Geography,  General  History,  French  and 
Spanish,  Penmanship,  Drawing  and  Book-Keeping,  Natural  Philo- 
sophy, and  Chemistry. 

In  all  the  departments,  for  the  purpose  of  better  discipline  and 
instruction,  the  schools  are  subdivided  into  distinct  classes  of 
different  grades,  under  the  charge  of  separate  teachers. 

The  order  of  exercises  on  week-days,  is  as  follows :  The  Pupils 
rise  at  6  o'clock,  take  breakfast  at  6^,  attend  morning  worship  at 
7,  take  recreation  until  8,  assemble  in  sections  at  that  hour,  meet 
in  the  School-rooms  at  9,  remain  there,  with  15  minutes  recess, 
until  12,  then  take  recreation  for  half  an  hour,  dine  at  12J ,  take 
recreation  from  1  until  2,  remain  in  the  School-rooms  from  2  until 
5,  with  recess  of  15  minutes,  attend  evening  worship  at  5,  take 
recreation  an  hour,  supper  at  Q},  assemble  in  the  section  rooms  at 
7,  retire  to  the  dormitories  from  8  to  10,  according  to  their  age. 
On  Saturday,  the  schools  are  not  in  session  in  the  afternoon. 

The  hours  of  recreation  are  spent  by  the  Pupils  either  in  the 
section  room,  or  on  the  play-ground,  where  materials  for  games 
and  amusements  are  provided.  A  bathing  pool  is  also  located  in 
the  western  portion  of  the  grounds,  which  is  used  by  the  scholars 
at  suitable  seasons;  and  Libraries  are  also  furnished  for  their 
instruction  and  entertainment.      On   proper  occasions  they  are 


VARIOUS   REGULATIONS.  48 

taken  to  approved  exhibitions,  or  to  visit  interesting  places,  manu- 
factories, and  work-shops  in  or  about  the  city. 

On  Sundays,  the  Pupils  assemble  in  their  section  rooms  at  9 
o'clock  in  the  morning,  and  at  2  in  the  afternoon,  for  religious 
reading  and  instruction,  and  at  10$  o'clock  in  the  morning,  and 
3 1  in  the  afternoon,  they  attend  worship  in  the  College  Building. 

At  the  daily  or  Sunday  religious  exercises,  the  President,  or 
gome  other  layman  selected  by  him,  officiates,  as  by  the  will 
Clergymen  are  not  privileged  to  be  admitted  into  the  College. 
On  week-days,  the  chapel  exercises  consist  of  singing  a  hymn, 
reading  a  chapter  from  the  Bible  or  New  Testament,  and  prayer. 
On  Sundays,  in  addition,  an  appropriate  discourse,  adapted  to  the 
comprehension  and  situation  of  the  Pupils,  is  delivered. 

The  discipline  of  the  Institution  is  almost  entirely  administered 
through  admonition,  deprivation  of  recreation,  and  seclusion ;  but 
in  extreme  cases,  corporal  punishment  may  be  inflicted  by  order 
of  the  President,  and  in  his  presence. 

In  the  case  of  the  death  of  a  Pupil,  his  friends  have  the  privilege 
of  removing  his  body  for  interment  elsewhere;  but  should  this 
not  be  preferred,  his  remains  are  placed  in  the  Cemetery  attached 
to  the  Institution,  and  located  within  its  walls.  A  steward,  two 
physicians,  and  a  dentist,  having  charge  of  their  respective  depart- 
ments, are  also  permanently  connected  with  the  Institution. 

Citizens  are  permitted  to  visit  the  College  on  the  afternoon  of 
the  first  Tuesday  in  each  month,  with  a  permit  signed  by  a  Direc- 
tor. Strangers  are  admitted  on  any  day  of  the  week,  except 
Sunday,  between  9  o'clock  A.  M.,  and  sunset,  upon  the  presenta- 
tion of  a  permit. 

The  annual  cost  per  capita,  for  maintaining,  clothing,  and  edu- 
cating each  Pupil,  including  the  current  repairs  of  the  furniture, 
buildings,  and  ground,  is  about  200  dollars.  The  funds  for  the 
support  of  the  Institution  are  not  appropriated  directly  to  the 
College,  but  are  in  the  hands  of  a  Committee  of  Councils,  termed 
the  Commissioners  of  the  Girard  Estate,  who  thus  exercise  a 
control  and  supervision  over  all  expenditures,  and  who  pay  all  bills 
contracted  by  the  Institution. 


44  DESCRIPTION    OF   THE   BUILDINGS. 

The  income  for  the  support  of  the  Institution  is  derived  princi- 
pally from  the  rental  of  the  real  estate  left  by  Mr.  Girard,  as  the 
cost  of  erecting  the  buildings,  and  the  immense  losses  sustained 
by  the  depreciation  of  the  stocks  and  loans,  had  completely 
absorbed  the  2,000,000  dollars  and  the  accruing  interest  devoted 
to  its  construction  and  maintenance. 


DESCRIPTION    OF   THE   BUILDINGS* 

THE    MAIN   BUILDING. 

The  general  design  of  this  building  is  that  of  a  Greek  temple, 
having  eight  columns  on  each  end,  and  eleven  on  each  side,  count- 
ing the  corner  columns  both  ways,  making  in  all  thirty-four  co- 
lumns. The  order  of  architecture  in  which  the  exterior  is  com- 
posed, is  the  Grecian  Corinthian.  The  columns  are  six  feet  in 
diameter,  and  fifty-five  in  height;  the  bases  are  nine  feet  three 
inches  in  diameter,  and  three  feet  two  inches  high,  and  the  capitals 
are  eight  feet  six  inches  high,  and  nine  feet  four  inches  wide  on 
the  face  of  the  abacus.  The  corner  columns  have  one  and  one- 
half  inches  more  diameter  than  the  intermediate  ones,  for  the  pur- 
pose of  overcoming  the  apparent  reduction  in  their  size  arising 
from  their  insulated  position.  Each  frustrum  composing  the  shafts, 
as  well  as  the  bases,  consists  of  a  single  piece  without  vertical 
joints. 

The  shafts  are  composed  of  frustra,  measuring  from  two  feet  six 
inches  to  six  feet  three  inches  in  height,  accurately  jointed  and  set 
on  milled  lead ;  each  shaft  is  channelled  in  twenty -four  semi-circu- 
lar flutes,  with  fillets  terminating  under  the  capital,  in  water-leaves. 

The  capitals  are  each  constructed  in  four  courses.  The  first 
course  consists  of  a  single  piece  of  one  foot  seven  inches  in  height, 
embracing  an  annular  row  of  sixteen  water-leaves ;  the  second  is 

*  Condensed  from  the  Report  of  the  Architect. 


DESCRIPTION    OF    THE    BUILDINGS.  45 

likewise  composed  of  one  piece,  which  measures  two  feet  nino 
inches  in  height,  and  contains  an  annular  row  of  eight  acanthus 
leaves;  the  third  course  is  comprised  of  two  pieces  with  a  vertical 
joint  running  through  the  middle  (this  course  measures  two  feet 
eleven  inches  in  height  and  embraces  the  volutes  and  the  cauli- 
culi);  and  the  fourth  course,  composed  of  four  pieces,  the  vertical 
joints  of  which  are  obscured  by  honeysuckles,  constitutes  the  aba- 
cus, the  height  of  which  is  one  foot  three  inches. 

Thus  each  capital  consists  of  twelve  separate  pieces,  all  of  which 
are  securely  dowelled  and  cramped  together,  and  the  joints  so  dis- 
posed between  the  cauliculi  as  not  to  be  observed. 

These  capitals  were  all  carved  on  the  grounds  of  the  College, 
of  marble  from  Chester  County  in  the  state  of  Pennsylvania,  and 
most  of  the  work  was  executed  by  American  artists.  As  a  speci- 
men of  architectural  sculpture,  they  will  not  suffer  in  comparison 
with  the  most  admired  structures  of  ancient  or  modern  times. 

The  net  amount  of  marble  in  each  column,  including  the  base 
and  capital,  is  1346  cubic  feet;  the  weight  103  tons,  and  the  cost 
12,994  dollars,  as  follows  :  — 

Marble  for  the  base $1,304 

Workmanship  of  do 130 

Hoisting  and  setting  of  do 20 

$1,454 

Marble  for  the  shaft 6,044 

Workmanship  of  do 572 

Hoisting  and  setting  do 104 

Fluting  do 480 

7,200 

Marble  for  the  Capital 2,680 

Workmanship  of  do 1,580 

Hoistin g  and  setting  do 45 

4,805 

Rigging,  scaffolding,  cramping,  and  lead 35 

$12,994 
The   architrave  over  each   intercolumniation    consists  of  four 


46  DESCRIPTION    CF   THE    BUILDINGS. 

blocks  of  marble  twenty-one  feet  five  inches  in  length,  four  feet 
two  inches  in  height,  and  one  foot  four  and  one-half  inches  in 
thickness,  extending  from  column  to  column.  These  architraves 
are  relieved  of  all  superincumbent  weight,  by  resolving  it  directly 
on  the  columns.  This  is  accomplished  by  placing  a  block  of  gra- 
nite of  two  feet  by  two  feet  ten  inches,  and  six  feet  four  inches  in 
height  on  the  top  of  each  column,  extending  through  the  archi- 
traves. From  the  top  of  these  blocks  a  brick  arch  is  turned  over  each 
intercolumniation  behind  the  frieze,  to  receive  the  weight  of  the 
cornice,  and  the  frieze  is  likewise  constructed  on  the  principles  of 
an  arch  and  is  kept  entirely  clear  of  the  architrave,  the  springers 
being  supported  by  the  granite  blocks  on  the  head  of  the  columns, 
so  that  every  architrave  in  the  peristyle  might  be  taken  out  with- 
out interfering  with  the  stability  of  the  structure. 

The  cornice  consists  of  a  congeries  of  mouldings,  enriched  with 
a  dentil  band,  and  crowned  with  a  sculptured  cymatium  of  two  feet 
four  inches  in  height.  The  extreme  projection  of  the  cornice  from 
the  face  of  the  architrave,  is  four  feet,  and  its  height  seven  feet 
six  inches.  The  whole  height  of  the  entablature  is  sixteen  feet 
four  inches,  and  of  the  pediment  from  the  top  of  the  cymatium 
seventeen  feet  eight  inches ;  making  the  height  fyom  the  top  of  the 
columns  to  the  apex  of  the  pediment  thirty-four  feet,  and  the  ele- 
vation of  the  pediment  one-ninth  of  the  span. 

The  exterior  of  the  cella  or  body  of  the  building  measures  one 
hundred  and  eleven  feet  wide,  one-hundred  and  sixty-nine  feet  long, 
and  fifty-nine  feet  eight  inches  high,  including  the  architrave,  which 
corresponds  with  that  of  the  peristyle.  The  corners  of  the  cella 
are  finished  with  projecting  antge  of  five  feet  six  inches  in  width, 
having  bases  to  correspond  with  those  of  the  columns.  The  doors 
of  entrance  are  in  the  north  and  south  fronts.  Each  door  measures 
sixteen  feet  in  width,  and  thirty-two  feet  in  height,  in  the  clear, 
and  is  trimmed  on  the  outside  with  moulded  antepagmenta  of  two 
feet  seven  inches  in  width,  and  crowned  with  a  projecting  cornice 
supported  by  richly  carved  consules,  of  one  foot  four  inches  in 
width  by  six  feet  six  inches  in  height. 

Each  flank  is  pierced  with  twenty  windows,  four  of  which  open 


DESCRIPTION    OF    THE   BUILDINGS.  47 

into  each  room,  and  one  on  each  flight  of  stairs.  Those  which 
open  into  the  rooms  are  grouped  and  divided  by  Greek  antae,  sur- 
mounted by  architraves  and  cornices. 

The  superstructure  rests  on  a  stylobate  or  basement,  consisting 
of  eleven  steps,  which  extend  around  the  entire  edifice,  thus 
imparting  a  pyramidal  appearance  to  the  substructure,  which  con- 
ve}rs  an  idea  of  great  solidity,  and  at  the  same  time  affords  an 
approach  to  the  peristyle  from  all  sides.  The  steps  are  constructed 
of  blocks  of  marble  of  ten  feet  in  length,  rebated  each  into  the 
other,  and  secured  to  the  foundations  by  means  of  heavy  cramp 
irons.  They  are  also  supported  by  cross  walls  built  five  feet  from 
centre  to  centre,  in  which  openings  are  left,  so  as  to  allow  a  free 
passage  around  the  whole  building. 

The  floor  of  the  peristyle  is  composed  of  slabs  of  marble,  four 
inches  in  thickness,  accurately  jointed,  and  laid  with  hollow  spaces 
under  them,  which  communicate  with  the  area  under  the  steps, 
and  with  the  cellars  in  which  are  the  furnaces.  Thus  a  continual 
circulation  of  air,  at  a  temperature  much  above  the  freezing  point, 
is  kept  up  under  all  the  steps,  as  well  as  under  the  floor  of  the 
peristyle. 

The  marble  used  in  the  east  and  west  flanks,  and  the  north 
front  of  the  cella,  as  also  the  steps,  the  floor  of  the  peristyle,  the 
roof,  the  interior  floors,  and  the  inside  stairways,  was  obtained 
from  Montgomery  County,  Pennsylvania.  The  material  for  tha 
capitals  of  the  columns,  with  a  considerable  portion  of  the  basea 
and  shafts,  the  south  front  of  the  cella,  and  part  of  the  interioi 
columns,  came  from  Chester  County,  Pennsylvania.  And  the 
remainder,  consisting  of  portions  of  the  shafts  and  bases  of 
the  columns,  and  the  entablature  of  the  peristyle,  with  the  rest 
of  the  interior  columns,  was  procured  from  Egremont,  Massachu- 
setts. 

Every  block  of  marble  in  the  building  is  set  on  pieces  of  milled 
lead,  in  order  to  prevent  fracture  at  the  joiats;  and  every  stone 
is  dowelled  into  the  stones  above  and  below,  and  at  each  end,  and 
also  securely  cramped  to  the  brick  work,  and  to  the  adjacent 
6tones  by  means  of  heavy  cramp  irons. 


48  DESCRIPTION    OF    THE    BUILDINGS. 

The  ceiling  of  the  peristyle  is  composed  entirely  of  cast  iron, 
enriched  with  deep  sunken  panels,  and  painted  and  sanded  in 
imitation  of  marble.  The  weight  of  this  cast  iron  is  142 \  tons, 
or  4|  tons  for  each  intercolumniation,  and  the  entire  cost  of  the 
ceiling  was  14,162  dollars. 

The  roof  is  composed  of  marble  tiles,  four  and  a  half  feet  long, 
four  feet  wide,  and  two  and  three-fourth  inches  thick  in  the 
middle;  the  sides  being  elevated  an  inch  and  a  half  above  the 
general  surface,  to  prevent  the  water  from  running  into  the  joints 
at  their  junction.  Each  of  these  joints  is  covered  with  a  marble 
saddle,  four  and  a  half  feet  in  length,  ten  inches  in  width,  and  six 
and  a  half  inches  in  thickness,  and  hollowed  out  on  the  under  side 
so  as  to  embrace  the  ridges  on  two  adjacent  tiles.  Every  upper 
tile  overlaps  the  one  below  six  inches;  and  the  under  side  is 
grooved  and  fitted  to  corresponding  ridges  and  projections  on  the 
surface,  thus  preventing  admission  of  water  from  beating  rains  or 
capillary  attraction.  At  the  same  time  their  construction  is 
such  as  to  admit  of  being  laid  without  coming  actually  in  contact 
with  each  other,  thus  rendering  them  free  to  expand  and  contract 
with  the  various  changes  of  temperature  without  producing  leaks. 

These  tiles  rest  on  nine  inch  brick  walls,  built  four  feet  apart 
from  centre  to  centre,  across  the  whole  building,  on  the  upper 
surface  of  the  third  story  arches.  This  plan  of  support  affords 
access  at  all  times  to  the  under  side  of  every  tile,  and  facilitates 
examination  in  case  of  leakage. 

The  weight  of  each  roofing  tile  is  776  lbs.,  and  of  each  saddle 
214  lbs.  The  whole  number  of  tiles  in  the  roof  being  2046,  and 
of  saddles  2061,  the  aggregate  weight  of  the  tiles  and  saddles  is 
906  tons;  in  addition  to  which,  the  marble  chimney  tops  and  the 
cast-iron  skylights  weigh  20  tons,  and  the  lead  and  masonry  of  the 
gutters  43 \  tons,  making  the  entire  weight  of  the  roof  969 \  tons, 
exclusive  of  the  brick-work  which  supports  it. 

The  gutters  are  composed  of  bricks  and  flag-stones  laid  in 
hydraulic  cement,  and  covered  with  heavy  milled  lead,  painted 
and  sanded.     The  water  is  conveyed  from  the  roof  by  means  of 


DESCRIPTION    OF    THE   BUILDINGS.  45 

four  conductors,  composed  of  heavy  cast-iron  pipes  of  ten  inches 
caliber,  securely  put  together  and  embedded  in  the  walls. 

The  skylights  are  composed  of  cast-iron  tiles  and  saddles,  so 
formed  as  to  present  an  exterior  appearance  corresponding  with 
the  rest  of  the  roof.  In  the  centre  of  each  tile  two  lights  of  glass 
are  inserted,  measuring  nineteen  inches  in  width,  forty-two  inches 
in  length,  and  half  an  inch  in  thickness;  and  nine  of  these  tiles, 
containing  eighteen  lights  of  the  above  dimensions,  are  placed 
ever  each  of  the  rooms  in  the  upper  story,  and  six  tiles,  haviDg 
twelve  lights,  over  each  stairway.  The  weight  of  the  cast-iron 
composing  these  skylights  is  fifteen  and  a  half  tons;  and  the  cost, 
including  glass  and  workmanship,  was  2800  dollars. 

The  building  is  three  stories  in  height;  the  first  and  second 
stories  being  twenty-five  feet  from  floor  to  floor,  and  the  third 
story  being  thirty  feet  in  the  clear  to  the  eye  of  the  dome.  Each 
story  is  divided,  as  directed  by  the  will,  into  four  rooms,  each  fifty 
feet  square  in  the  clear.  All  the  outside  foundation  walls  of  the 
cella,  and  the  walls  separating  the  cellars  under  the  rooms,  from 
those  under  the  vestibules,  are  six  feet  four  inches  thick ;  and  the 
rest  of  the  interior  foundation  walls  are  three  feet  four  inches 
thick.  The  thickness  of  the  wall  for  supporting  the  columns  is 
nine  feet  nine  inches;  and  the  intercolumniations,  as  well  as  all 
other  openings,  are  counter-arched  with  bricks. 

The  outside  walls  of  the  superstructure,  and  the  interior  vesti- 
bule walls,  are  four  feet  in  thickness,  and  the  rest  of  the  interior 
walls  three  feet. 

All  the  rooms  and  vestibules  in  the  building  are  vaulted  with 
bricks;  those  of  the  basement,  first  and  second  stories,  with  groin 
arches,  and  those  of  the  third  story  with  pendentive  domes  spring- 
ing from  the  floors.  The  reverberation  of  sound  in  these  rooms, 
caused  by  their  arch-formed  ceilings,  although  anticipated  by  the 
architect,  is  the  result  of  the  express  directions  of  the  will  in  their 
formation.  This  reverberation  is  now  entirely  obviated  by  the 
introduction  of  false  ceilings  made  of  canvass  stretched  over  a 
light  wooden  frame. 

The  piers  from  which  the  groin  arches  spring  are  four  feet 
5 


50  DESCRIPTION    OF   THE   BUILDINGS. 

square,  with  projections  of  one  foot  by  two  feet  in  the  angles,  to 
support  the  bands.  These  piers  are  composed  of  bricks  and 
dressed  granite,  laid  in  alternate  sections. 

The  arches  are  composed  of  hard  burnt  paving  bricks,  and 
mortar  made  of  lime,  hydraulic  cement,  and  sharp  sand. 

The  chord  of  these  arches  on  the  diagonal,  is  sixty  feet,  and 
their  versed  sine,  or  rise,  but  eight  feet.  Each  arch,  including 
its  abutments,  contains  117,000  bricks,  which,  together  with  the 
marble  floor  on  top,  makes  the  weight  suspended  over  each  room 
about  350  tons. 

The  third  story  arches  spring  out  of  the  corners  of  the  rooms ; 
the  horizontal  section  at  the  floor,  or  springing  line  being  four  feet 
square,  with  bands  of  one  foot  six  inches,  by  four  feet.  These 
bands  form  semicircular  arches  on  the  four  walls  of  each  room,  of 
thirty-two  feet  two  inches  in  diameter,  and  from  their  angles  at  the 
floor,  spring  the  pendentives.  The  horizontal  section  of  each  room 
is  thus  resolved  into  a  circle  at  the  top  of  the  bands,  and  crowned 
with  a  dome.  The  dome,  as  well  as  the  bands  and  pendentives, 
are  enriched  with  deep  cofferings,  and  the  eye  of  the  dome  is  fin- 
ished with  an  ornamental  fret,  and  cohered  with  an  inner  skylight 
of  sixteen  feet  in  diameter.  The  domes  over  the  four  stair-ways 
are  similar  to  those  of  the  rooms,  and  have  inner  skylights  of  ten 
feet  in  diameter.  The  lateral  thrust  of  the  arches  is  resisted  by 
iron  bands  of  one  inch  by  five  inches,  extending  around  all  the 
rooms  and  vestibules.  One  of  these  bands  is  placed  one  foot  be- 
low and  another  one  foot  above  the  spring  of  the  first  and  second 
story  arches,  and  one  immediately  at  the  spring  of  those  of  the 
third  story,  making  five  complete  bands  around  the  building,  and 
through  all  the  interior  walls.  Three  bands  of  similar  dimensions, 
one  being  embedded  in  each  regula  or  architrave  moulding,  and 
one  through  the  frieze,  extend  around  the  portico.  Cross  bars  are 
also  introduced  between  the  building  and  the  entablature,  extend- 
ing from  the  upper  bar  which  belts  the  building,  to  the  frieze  over 
each  column,  where  they  are  secured  to  the  top  of  the  granite 
posts  before  described. 

All  the  bars  are  put  together  with  rivets,  and  tightened  by  means 


DESCRIPTION    OF    THE    BUILDINGS.  51 

of  draw-wedges,  and  all  the  corners  are  turned  around  granite  posts 
of  six  feet  in  height,  built  in  the  centre  of  the  groin  piers.  In 
order  to  give  additional  strength  to  the  banding,  diagonal  bars  are 
introduced  across  each  groin  pier,  and  securely  riveted  to  the  prin- 
cipal bands. 

The  aggregate  length  of  all  the  bars  of  this  description  used 
throughout  the  building  is  12,74-1  feet,  and  their  weight  one  hun- 
dred and  fourteen  tons.  The  whole  cost  of  this  iron  banding  was 
14,000  dollars. 

The  vestibules  in  the  first  story,  and  the  lobbies  over  them  in 
the  second  and  third  stories,  occupy  the  northern  and  southern 
ends  of  the  building  as  directed  by  the  will ;  they  are  each  twenty- 
five,  by  fifty  feet  exclusive  of  the  space  occupied  by  the  stairways. 
The  vaulting  of  each  vestibule  and  of  each  lobby,  springs  from 
marble  entablatures  supported  by  eight  columns  and  as  many  antae, 
making  in  all  forty-eight  columns  and  forty-eight  antae.  The  shafts 
of  these  columns  are  each  composed  of  a  single  stone.  The  order 
of  those  in  the  first  story  is  Ionic,  in  the  second  story  a  modified 
Corinthian,  from  the  tower  of  the  winds  at  Athens,  and  the  third, 
a  similar  modification  of  the  Corinthian,  somewhat  lighter  and  more 
ornate. 

The  stairways  are  situated  in  the  four  corners  of  the  building, 
the  spaces  allotted  to  them  being  each  twenty-two  feet  six  inches 
wide,  and  twenty-six  feet  six  inches  long.  They  are  all  composed 
of  white  marble,  and  are  five  feet  three  inches  in  width  with  two 
landings  on  "  quarter  paces  "  in  each  story.  The  plan  on  which 
they  are  constructed,  is  that  of  "geometrical  stairs,"  having  one 
end  of  each  secured  in  the  wall,  and  one  edge  resting  on  the  step 
below. 

All  the  stairways,  as  well  as  the  landings,  in  the  upper  stories, 
are  finished  with  rich  balustrades  of  cast-iron,  and  mahogany  rails, 
springing  from  massive  marble  newels.  The  cost  of  these  stair 
ways,  including  the  balustrade,  was  18,500  dollars. 

The  flooring  of  the  interior  of  the  building  amounts  in  the  aggre- 
gate to  38,130  superficial  feet;  all  of  which  is  done  with  marble 


52  DESCRIPTION    OF    THE    BUILDINGS. 

tiles  prepared  expressly,  of  uniform  thickness,  and  having  their 
edges  worked  square  so  as  to  prevent  them  from. becoming  loose. 

The  building  is  warmed  by  means  of  furnaces  placed  under  the 
vestibules,  with  flues  to  convey  the  warm  air  to  the  several  rooms, 
and  ventilated  by  registers  opening  from  each  room  into  the  main 


The  following  materials  were  used  in  the  construction  of  the  main 
building. 

Tons. 

177,168  Cubic  feet  of  marble,  weighing 13,537 

21,366  Cubic  feet  of  granite,  weighing 1,717 

25,139  Flooring  tiles,  weighing 409 

12,134,980  Bricks,  weighing 27,087 

12,495  perches  of  building  stone,  weighing 19,635 

Wrought  iron  for  bands,  cramps,  &c,  weighing 134 

Cast  iron  in  ceiling  of  Portico,  weighing 142  J 

Cast  iron  in  water-pipes,  weighing 18 

Cast  iron  in  sky-lights  and  inner  rims,  weighing 18  J 

Milled  lead  for  gutters  and  setting  marble,  and  lead  for 

cramping,  weighing 48  £ 

53,720  Bushels  of  lime,  weighing 1,431 

50,224  Bushels  of  river  sand,  weighing 3,292 

133,646  Bushels  of  pit  sand,  weighing 8,759 

4,200  Bushels  of  hydraulic  cement,  weighing 250 

Locks,  fastenings,  glass,  lumber  in  doors  and  windows,  &c. 

weighing  about 116 

Making  the  aggregate  weight  of  the  building 76,594  J 


The  area  on  which  the  building  stands,  exclusive  of  the  steps, 
measures  34,344  superficial  feet,  of  which  12,862  feet  are  occupied 
by  the  walls,  making  the  proportion  of  the  points  of  support  to  the 
voids,  more  than  as  one  to  two.  The  average  weight  resolved  on 
each  superficial  foot  of  foundation,  is  about  six  tons. 


DESCRIPTION    OF    THE    BUILDINGS.  53 

OUT-BUILDINGS. 

Mr.  Grirard  directed  that  at  least  four  out-buildings,  detached 
from  the  main  edifice  and  from  each  other  should  be  erected; 
which  buildings  he  ordered  should  be  sufficiently  spacious  for  the 
residence  and  accommodation  of  at  least  three  hundred  scholars, 
and  the  requisite  teachers  and  other  persons  necessary  in  such  an 
institution. 

In  compliance  with  this  provision  of  the  will,  four  out-buildings, 
two  on  the  eastern  and  two  on  the  western  side  of  the  College, 
have  been  constructed.  They  stand  on  the  same  general  range, 
fronting  north  and  south,  the  first  being  at  the  distance  of  one 
hundred  and  forty  feet  from  the  main  building,  and  the  two  build- 
ings having  an  interval  between  them  of  eighty-seven  feet. 

Each  of  these  buildings  measures  fifty-two  feet  wide  by  one  hun- 
dred and  twenty-five  feet  long.  They  are  three  stories  in  height, 
with  a  basement  of  seven  feet  above  the  surface  of  the  ground, 
and  are  all  faced  with  martjje,  and  roofed  with  copper,  or  tin.  The 
easternmost  building,  known  as  No.  1,  embraces  four  separate  and 
complete  dwelling-houses  for  the  officers  of  the  Institution. 

The  eastern  building  No.  2,  nearest  the  College,  is  occupied  as 
a  residence  by  one  hundred  of  the  pupils.  This  house  contains 
four  dormitories,  each  measuring  nineteen  by  fifty-four  feet,  and  two 
section  rooms  of  the  same  size,  with  a  lavatory,  and  the  necessary 
rooms  for  the  accommodation  of  the  officers  and  servants.  An 
entry  or  hall,  of  eight  feet  in  width,  extends  the  whole  length 
of  the  building,  on  every  floor  or  story.  The  stairways  are  situated 
at  each  end  of  the  halls,  and  are  composed  of  marble  with  wrought 
iron  balustrades. 

In  the  basement  of  the  western  building  nearest  the  College, 
known  as  No.  3,  is  the  general  Refectory  for  the  pupils,  measuring 
eighteen  feet  six  inches  in  width  by  one  hundred  and  twenty  feet 
in  length,  together  with  the  principal  kitchen  and  scullery,  con- 
taining improved  ranges  and  steam  apparatus  for  the  preparation 
of  the  food.  In  this  building  are  also  the  parlors  for  the  officers-, 
section  rooms  for  a  portion  of  the  students,  four  dormitories,  each 
5  * 


54  DESCRIPTION    OF    THE    BUILDINGS. 

nineteen  by  thirty-nine  feet  in  size,  and  rooms  for  the  subordinate 
officers  and  servants. 

A  covered  passage  of  eleven  feet  six  inches  in  width,  is  con- 
structed between  this  building,  and  No.  4,  which  is  fitted  up  as  a 
lavatory. 

The  western  building,  No.  4,  is  divided  into  sixty-two  small  dor- 
mitories, and  also  contains  the  Infirmary  of  the  Institution. 

Both  of  these  western  buildings  have  cellars  under  the  base- 
ments, and  marble  stairways  throughout,  opening  into  halls  of 
eight  feet  in  width,  which  extend  from  end  to  end  of  the  build- 
ings on  every  floor  or  story. 

The  spaces  between  the  buildings,  both  on  the  east  and  west  of 
the  College,  are  inclosed  by  marble  walls,  which  include  gardens 
and  the  necessary  offices  for  the  pupils. 

In  the  original  plan  of  the  College  and  grounds,  it  was  proposed 
to  furnish  the  supplies  of  water  from  springs  which  rise  on  the 
western  end  of  the  estate,  the  contents  of  which  were  forced  by 
an  hydraulic  ram  into  reservoirs  in  the  out-buildings,  and 
thence  distributed  to  all  parts  of  the  Institution.  This  plan  was 
rendered  necessary,  in  consequence  of  the  elevation  of  the  College 
grounds  being  above  the  level  of  the  water  basins  which  supply 
the  inhabitants  of  the  city  and  districts.  But  soon  after  the  In- 
stitution was  put  into  operation,  it  was  found  that  this  mode  was 
not  only  defective  from  the  liability  of  the  apparatus  to  get  out  of 
order,  but  also  that  the  supply  of  water  was  altogether  insufficient. 
To  remedy  this  difficulty,  an  additional  building  was  erected  during 
the  year  1850,  which  affords  now,  by  means  of  steam  apparatus,  a 
plentiful  supply  of  this  indispensable  element,  and  of  most  excellent 
quality.  This  building,  known  as  No.  5,  is  located  at  the  distance 
of  one  hundred  feet  from  the  western  out-building,  and  is  constructed 
of  pointed  rubble  stone,  with  marble  sills,  steps,  and  belt  courses. 
It  is  three  stories  in  height  above  the  basement,  and  measures  fifty 
feet  in  width,  by  one  hundred  feet  in  length.  At  the  north-west 
angle  of  this  building  a  well  of  sixteen  feet  diameter  has  been  made, 
the  water  from  which  is  thrown  by  means  of  a  five-horse  engine 
and  force-pump  into  four  iron  tanks,  or  reservoirs,  located  in  the 


DESCRIPTION    OF    THE    BUILDINGS.  55 

third  story,  and  thence  distributed  through  a  four  inch  iron 
main,  and  with  a  head  of  about  thirty-five  feet,  to  the  kitchens, 
lavatories,  bath  rooms,  yards,  &c.  Each  of  these  tanks  is  of  the 
capacity  of  2500  gallons,  and  the  water  of  one  of  them  is  heated 
by  means  of  coils  of  steam  pipes  connected  with  the  boilers  in  the 
basement.  On  the  first  floor,  are  located  the  rooms  for  washing, 
drying,  and  ironing  the  clothes,  containing  the  latest  and  most 
approved  steam  apparatus  for  such  purposes;  and  in  the  south 
basement  is  situated  the  bakery  of  the  establishment.  The  other 
rooms  in  the  first  and  second  stories  of  this  building  are  occupied 
by  the  classes  in  French  and  Spanish,  Drawing,  Writing  and  Book- 
keeping, and  also  by  the  Chemical  Laboratory. 

The  out-buildings  are  heated  by  furnaces,  and  the  entire  grounds 
and  buildings  are  lighted  with  gas  procured  from  the  works  of  the 
district  of  Spring  Garden. 

The  whole  Estate  is  surrounded  by  a  wall  of  ten  feet  in  height, 
by  sixteen  inches  in  thickness,  with  spur  piers  on  the  inside,  and 
buttresses  of  three  feet  in  width,  at  intervals  of  fourteen  feet. 
The  wall  is  composed  of  rubble-stone,  and  covered  with  a  heavy 
marble  capping  ;  and  its  entire  length  is  6843  feet,  or  something 
more  than  one  and  a  quarter  miles. 

There  are  two  gates  of  entrance,  one  being  opposite  each  front 
of  the  main  building;  and  at  the  southern  entrance  are  two 
octagonal  lodges,  faced  with  white  marble,  each  twenty  feet  in 
diameter,  and  sixteen  feet  high.  At  each  entrance  are  double 
gates,  the  inner  one  being  of  iron,  and  the  outer  one  of  wood, 
folding  into  a  recess  in  the  marble  work.  The  eastern  portion  of 
the  grounds,  on  which  the  buildings  are  located,  and  which  contains 
twenty-one  acres,  has  been  graded  to  suit  the  elevation  of  the  sur- 
rounding streets,  and  is  laid  out  with  gravel  walks  and  ornamented 
with  shrubbery.  On  the  western  portion,  containing  about  twenty 
acres,  are  erected  a  farm-house,  barn,  and  out-houses.  At  the 
extreme  western  end  has  been  constructed  an  artificial  pool  for  the 
bathing  and  amusement  of  the  pupils.  The  grounds  around  the 
College,  as  well  as  the  buildings,  are  drained  by  means  of  a  three 


56  DESCRIPTION    OF   THE    BUILDINGS. 

feet  culvert,  with  branch  barrel  drainers  of  two  feet  in  diameter, 
leading  from  the  several  yards,  kitchens,  lavatories,  &c. 

An  avenue  of  sixty  feet  in  width,  one  half  of  which  has  been 
taken  from  the  College  grounds,  has  been  opened  on  the  northern, 
western,  and  southern  boundaries ;  and  by  an  Act  of  the  Legisla- 
ture no  street  can,  at  any  future  time,  be  opened  through  the 
College  premises,  without  the  consent  of  the  Councils  of  the,  City 
of  Philadelphia  first  had  and  obtained. 


It  had  been  the  original  intention  of  Mr.  Girard,  that  the  Col- 
lege Buildings  should  occupy  his  square  of  ground  comprehended 
within  the  limits  of  Market  and  Chestnut,  and  Eleventh  and 
Twelfth  Streets,  in  the  City  proper.  But  becoming  afterwards 
by  purchase  the  possessor  of  the  farm  of  Peel  Hall,  on  the  Ridge 
Iioad,  he  chose  the  latter  as  the  more  desirable  site,  and  it  is  here 
that  the  College  has  finally  been  established.  The  square  at  first 
allotted  for  the  purpose  has  been  built  up  with  fine  dwellings  and 
stores,  the  rental  of  which  forms  a  considerable  portion  of  the 
fund  devoted  to  the  maintenance  of  the  College. 

The  site  upon  which  the  Girard  College  is  erected,  corresponds 
well  with  its  splendor  and  importance.  It.  is  elevated  con- 
siderably above  the  general  level  of  the  surrounding  buildings, 
and  forms  a  conspicuous  object,  not  only  from  the  higher  windows 
and  roofs  in  every  part  of  Philadelphia,  but  from  the  Delaware 
river  many  miles  below  the  city,  and  from  eminences  far  out  in 
the  country. 

Prom  the  lofty  marble  roof  of  the  main  edifice  itself,  (to  which 
access  is  so  easy,  that  almost  every  visitor  ascends,)  the  view  is 
also  exceedingly  beautiful,  embracing  the  City  and  its  environs  for 
oiany  miles  around,  and  the  course,  to  their  confluence  eight  miles 
below,  of  both  those  noble  rivers  which  enclose  the  City. 


THE   WILL 


OF   THE   LATE 


STEPHEN  GIEARD,  Esq. 


I,  Stephen  Girard,  of  the  City  of  Philadelphia,  in  the 
Commonwealth  of  Pennsylvania,  Mariner  and  Merchant,  being  of 
sound  mind,  memory,  and  understanding,  do  make  and  publish 
this  my  last  Will  and  Testament,  in  manner  following :  that  is  to 
say—  , 

I.  I  give  and  bequeath  unto  "  The  Contributors  to  the  Penn- 
sylvania Hospital,"  of  which  Corporation  I  am  a  member,  the 
sum  of  Thirty  Thousand  Dollars,  upon  the  following  conditions, 
namely,  that  the  said  sum  shall  be  added  to  their  Capital,  and 
shall  remain  a  part  thereof  forever,  to  be  placed  at  interest,  and 
the  interest  thereof  to  be  applied  in  the  first  place,  to  pay  to  my 
black  woman  Hannah  (to  whom  I  hereby  give  her  freedom,)  the 
sum  of  two  hundred  dollars  per  year,  in  quarterly  payments  of 
fifty  dollars  each,  in  advance,  during  all  the  term  of  her  life ; 
and,  in  the  second  place,  the  said  interest  to  be  applied  to  the 
use  and  accommodation  of  the  sick  in  the  said  Hospital,  and  for 
providing,  and  at  all  times  having,  competent  matrons,  and  a 
sufficient  number  of  nurses  and  assistant  nurses,  in  order  not  only 
to  promote  the  purposes  of  the  said  Hospital,  but  to  increase 
this  last  class  of  useful  persons,  much  wanted  in  our  city. 

II.  I  give  and  bequeath  to  "  The  Pennsylvania  Institution  for 
the  Deaf  and  Dumb,"  the  sum  of  Twenty  Thousand  Dollars,  for 
the  use  of  that  Institution. 

(57) 


58  STEPHEN    GIRARD'S    WILL. 

III.  I  give  and  bequeath  to  "  The  Orphan  Asylum  of  Phila- 
delphia/' the  sum  of  Ten  Thousand  Dollars,  for  the  use  of  that 
Institution. 

IV.  I  give  and  bequeath  to  "  The  Comptrollers  of  the  Public 
Schools  for  the  City  and  County  of  Philadelphia/'  the  sum  of 
Ten  Thousand  Dollars,  for  the  use  of  the  Schools  upon  the 
Lancaster  system,  in  the  first  section  of  the  first  school  district  of 
Pennsylvania. 

V.  I  give  and  bequeath  to  "  The  Mayor,  Aldermen,  and  Citizens 
of  Philadelphia,"  the  sum  of  Ten  Thousand  Dollars,  in  trust 
safely  to  invest  the  same  in  some  productive  fund,  and  with  the 
interest  and  dividends  arising  therefrom  to  purchase  fuel,  between 
the  months  of  March  and  August  in  every  year  forever,  and  in 
the  month  of  January  in  every  year  forever,  distribute  the  same 
amongst  poor  white  house-keepers  and  room-keepers,  of  good 
character,  residing  in  the  City  of  Philadelphia. 

VI.  I  give  and  bequeath  to  the  Society  for  the  relief  of  poor 
and  distressed  Masters  of  Ships,  their  Widows  and  Children,  (of 
which  Society  I  am  a  member)  the  sum  of  Ten  Thousand  Dollars  ^ 
to  be  added  to  their  Capital  stock,  for  the  uses  and  purposes  of 
said  Society. 

VII.  I  give  and  bequeath  to  the  gentlemen  who  shall  be 
Trustees  of  the  Masonic  Loan,  at  the  time  of  my  decease,  the  sum 
of  Twenty  Thousand  Dollars,  including  therein  ten  thousand 
and  nine  hundred  dollars  due  to  me,  part  of  the  Masonic  Loan, 
and  any  interest  that  may  be  due  thereon  at  the  time  of  my 
decease,  in  trust  for  the  use  and  benefit  of  "  The  Grand  Lodge  of 
Pennsylvania,  and  Masonic  Jurisdiction  thereto  belonging,"  and 
to  be  paid  over  by  the  said  Trustee  to  the  said  Grand  Lodge,  for 
the  purpose  of  being  invested  in  some  safe  stock  or  funds,  or  other 
good  security,  and  the  dividends  and  interest  arising  therefrom  to 
be  again  so  invested  and  added  to  the  Capital,  without  applying 
any  part  thereof  to  any  other  purpose,  until  the  whole  capital 
shall  amount  to  thirty  thousand  dollars,  when  the  same  shall  for- 
ever after  remain  a  permanent  fund  or  Capital,  of  the  said  amount 


STErilEN  girard's  avill.  59 

of  thirty  thousand  dollars,  the  interest  whereof  shall  be  applied 
from  time  to  time  to  the  relief  of  poor  and  respectable  brethren  ;  and 
in  order  that  the  real  and  benevolent  purposes  of  masonic  institu- 
tions may  be  attained,  I  recommend  to  the  several  lodges  not  to 
admit  to  membership,  or  to  receive  members  from  other  lodges, 
unless  the  applicants  shall  absolutely  be  men  of  sound  and  good 
morals. 

VIII.  I  give  and  bequeath  unto  Philip  Peltz,  John  Lentz, 
Francis  Hesley,  Jacob  Baker,  and  Adam  Young,  of  Passyunk 
township,  in  the  County  of  Philadelphia,  the  sum  of  Six  Thou- 
sand Dollars,  in  trust,  that  they  or  the  survivors  or  survivor  of 
them  shall  purchase  a  suitable  piece  of  ground,  as  near  as  may  be 
in  the  centre  of  said  township,  and  thereon  erect  a  substantial 
brick  building,  sufficiently  large  for  a  school-house,  and  the  resi- 
dence of  a  school-master,  one  part  thereof  for  poor  male  white 
children,  and  the  other  part  for  poor  female  white  children,  of  said 
township ;  and  as  soon  as  the  said  school-house  shall  have  been 
built,  that  the  said  trustees  or  survivors  or  survivor  of  them, 
shall  convey  the  said  piece  of  ground  and  house  thereon  erected, 
and  shall  pay  over  such  balance  of  said  sum  as  may  remain  unex- 
pended to  any  board  of  directors  and  their  successors,  in  trust, 
which  may  at  the  time  exist  or  be  by  law  constituted,  consisting 
of  at  least  twelve  discreet  inhabitants  of  the  said  township,  and  to 
be  annually  chosen  by  the  inhabitants  thereof;  the  said  piece  of 
ground  and  house  to  be  carefully  maintained  by  said  directors  and 
their  successors  solely  for  the  purposes  of  a  school  as  aforesaid,  for- 
ever, and  the  said  balance  to  be  securely  invested  as  a  permanent 
fund,  the  interest  thereof  to  be  applied  from  time  to  time  towards 
the  education  in  the  said  school  of  any  number  of  such  poor  white 
children  of  said  township;  and  I  do  hereby  recommend  to  the 
citizens  of  said  township  to  make  additions  to  the  fund  whereof  I 
have  laid  the  foundation. 

IX.  I  give  and  devise  my  house,  and  lot  of  ground  thereto  be- 
longing, situate  in  rue  Ramouet  aux  Chartrons,  near  the  city  of 
Bordeaux,  in  France,  and  the  rents,  issues,  and  profits  thereof,  to 
my   brother,  Etienne    Girard,  and    my  niece  Victoire    Fenellon, 


60  STEPHEN    GIRARl/s    WILL. 

^daughter  of  my  late  sister  Sophia  Girard  Capayron,)  both  residing 
in  France,  in  equal  moieties  for  the  life  of  my  said  brother,  and, 
on  his  decease,  one  moiety  of  the  said  house  and  lot  to  my  said  niece 
Victoire,  and  her  heirs  forever,  and  the  other  moiety  to  the  six 
children  of  my  said  brother,  namely,  John  Fabricius,  Marguerite, 
Ann  Henriette,  Jean  August,  Marie,  and  Madelaine  Henriette, 
share  and  share  alike,  (the  issue  of  any  deceased  child,  if  more 
than  one,  to  take  amongst  them  the  parent's  share)  and  their  heirs 
forever. 

X.  I  give  and  bequeath  to  my  said  brother,  Etienne  Girard, 
the  sum  of  Five  Thousand  Dollars,  and  the  like  sum  of  Five 
Thousand  Dollars  to  each  of  his  six  children  above  named  :  if 
any  of  the  said  children  shall  die  prior  to  the  receipt  of  his  or  her 
legacy  of  five  thousand  dollars,  the  said  sum  shall  be  paid,  and  I 
give  and  bequeath  the  same  to  any  issue  of  such  deceased  child, 
if  more  than  one,  share  and  share  alike. 

XL  I  give  and  bequeath  to  my  said  niece,  Victoire  Fenellon 
ehe  sum  of  Five  Thousand  Dollars. 

XII.  I  give  and  bequeath  absolutely  to  my  niece,  Antoinctta, 
now  married  to  Mr.  Hemphill,  the  sum  of  Ten  Thousand  Dol- 
lars, and  I  also  give  and  bequeath  to  her  the  sum  of  Fifty  Thou- 
sand Dollars,  to  be  paid  over  to  a  trustee  or  trustees  to  be  appointed 
by  my  executors,  which  trustee  or  trustees  shall  place  and  continue 
the  said  sum  of  fifty  thousand  dollars  upon  good  security,  and 
pay  the  interest  and  dividends  thereof  as  they  shall  from  time  to 
time  accrue,  to  my  said  niece  for  her  separate  use,  during  the  term 
of  her  life,  and  from  and  immediately  after  her  decease,  to  pay  and 
distribute  the  capital  to  and  among  such  of  her  children  and  the 
issue  of  deceased  children,  and  in  such  parts  and  shares  as  she 
the  said  Antoinetta,  by  an  instrument  under  her  hand  and  seal, 
executed  in  the  presence  of  at  least  two  credible  witnesses,  shall 
direct  and  appoint,  and  for  default  of  such  appointment,  then  to 
and  among  the  said  children  and  issue  of  deceased  children  in 
equal  shares,  such  issue  of  deceased  children,  if  more  than  one, 
to  take  only  the  share  which  their  deceased  parent  would  have 
taken  if  living. 


STEPHEN    GIRARD'S    WILL.  61 

XIII.  I  give  and  bequeath  unto  my  niece  Carolina,  now  married 
to  Mr.  Haslam,  the  sum  of  Ten  Thousand  Dollars  ;  to  be  paid 
over  to  a  trustee  or  trustees  to  be  appointed  by  my  executors,  which 
trustee  or  trustees  shall  place  and  continue  the  said  money  upon 
good  security,  and  pay  the  interest  and  dividends  thereof  from 
time  to  time  as  they  shall  accrue,  to  my  said  niece  for  her  separate 
use,  during  the  term  of  her  life  :  and  from  and  immediately  after 
her  decease,  to  pay  and  distribute  the  capital  to  and  among  such 
of  her  children,  and  issue  of  deceased  children,  and  in  such  parts 
and  shares,  as  she  the  said  Carolina,  by  any  instrument  under  her 
hand  and  seal,  executed  in  the  presence  of  at  least  two  credible 
witnesses,  shall  direct  and  appoint,  and  for  default  of  such  appoint- 
ment, then  to  and  among  the  said  children,  and  issue  of  deceased 
children,  in  equal  shares,  such  issue  of  deceased  children,  if  more 
than  one,  to  take  only  the  share  which  the  deceased  parent  would 
have  taken  if  living  j  but  if  my  said  niece  Carolina,  shall  leave  no 
issue,  then  the  said  trustee  or  trustees,  on  her  decease,  shall  pay 
the  said  capital,  and  any  interest  accrued  thereon,  to  and  among 
Caroline  Lallemand,  (niece  of  the  said  Carolina)  and  the  children 
of  the  aforesaid  Antoinetta  Hemphill,  share  and  share  alike. 

XIV.  I  give  and  bequeath  to  my  niece  Henrietta,  now  married 
to  Dr.  Clark,  the  sum  of  Ten  Thousand  Dollars  ;  and  I  give  and 
bequeatr  to  her  daughter  Caroline,  (in  the  last  clause  above  named), 
the  sum  of  Twenty  Thousand  Dollars  —  the  interest  of  said  sum 
of  twenty  thousand  dollars  or  so  much  thereof  as  may  be  necessary, 
to  be  applied  to  the  maintenance  and  education  of  the  said  Caro- 
line during  her  minority,  and  the  principal,  with  any  accumulated 
interest,  to  be  paid  to  the  said  Caroline,  on  her  arrival  at  the  age 
of  twenty-one  years. 

XV.  Unto  each  of  the  captains  who  shall  be  in  my  employment 
at  the  time  of  my  decease,  either  in  port,  or  at  sea,  having  charge 
of  one  of  my  ships  or  vessels,  and  having  performed  at  least  two 
voyages  in  my  service,  I  give  and  bequeath  the  sum  of  Fifteen 
Hundred  Dollars  —  provided  he  shall  have  brought  safely  into 
the  port  of  Philadelphia,  or  if  at  sea  at  the  time  of  my  decease, 
shall  bring  safely  into  that  port,  my  ship  or  vessel  last  intrusted  to 

6 


62  STEPHEN    GIRARD  S    WILL. 

him,  and  also  that  his  conduct  during  the  last  voyage  shall  havo 
been  in  every  respect  conformable  to  my  instructions  to  him. 

XVI.  All  persons,  who,  at  the  time  of  my  decease,  shall  be 
bound  to  me  by  indenture,  as  apprentices  or  servants,  and  who 
shall  then  be  under  age,  I  direct  my  executors  to  assign  to  suitable 
masters  immediately  after  my  decease,  for  the  remainder  of  their 
respective  terms,  on  conditions  as  favorable  as  they  can  in  regard  to 
education,  clothing,  and  freedom  dues  :  to  each  of  the  said  persons 
in  my  service,  and  under  age  at  the  time  of  my  decease,  I  give  and 
bequeath  the  sum  of  Five  Hundred  Dollars,  which  sums  respec- 
tively I  direct  my  executors  safely  to  invest  in  public  stock,  to 
apply  the  interest  and  dividends  thereof,  towards  the  education  of 
the  several  apprentices  or  servants,  for  whom  the  capital  is  given 
respectively,  and  at  the  termination  of  the  apprenticeship  or  ser- 
vice of  each,  to  pay  to  him  or  her  the  said  sum  of  five  hundred 
dollars,  and  any  interest  accrued  thereon,  if  any  such  interest  shall 
remain  unexpended ;  in  assigning  any  indenture,  preference  shall 
be  given  to  the  mother,  father,  or  next  relation,  as  assignee,  should 
such  mother,  father,  or  relative  desire  it,  and  be  at  the  same  time 
respectable  and  competent. 

XVII.  I  give  and  bequeath  to  Francis  Hesley  (son  of  Mrs.  S. 
Hesley,  who  is  mother  of  Marianne  Hesley,)  the  sum  of  One 
Thousand  Dollars,  over  and  above  such  sum  as  may  be  due  to 
him  at  my  decease. 

XVIII.  I  charge  my  real  estate  in  the  State  of  Pennsylvania 
with  the  payment  of  the  several  annuities  or  sums  following,  (the 
said  annuities  to  be  paid  by  the  Treasurer  or  other  proper  officers 
of  the  City  of  Philadelphia,  appointed  by  the  Corporation  thereof 
for  the  purpose,  out  of  the  rents  and  profits  of  said  real  estate  here- 
inafter directed  to  be  kept  constantly  rented,)  namely  :  — 

1st.  I  give  and  bequeath  to  Mrs.  Elizabeth  Ingersol),  widow  of 
Jared  Ingersoll,  Esq.,  late  of  the  city  of  Philadelphia,  Counsellor 
at  law,  an  annuity,  or  yearly  sum  of  One  Thousand  Dollars,  to 
be  paid  in  half-yearly  payment,  in  advance,  of  five  hundred  dollars 
each,  during  her  life. 


STEPHEN    GIRARD'S    WILL.  63 

2d.  I  give  and  bequeath  to  Mrs.  Catherine  Girard,  now  widow 
of  Mr.  J.  B.  Hoskins,  who  died  in  the  Isle  of  France,  an  annuity, 
or  yearly  sum  of  Four  Hundred  Dollars,  to  be  paid  in  half-yearly 
payments,  in  advance,  of  two  hundred  dollars  each,  during  her 
life. 

3d.  I  give  and  bequeath  to  Mrs.  Jane  Taylor,  my  present 
house-keeper,  (the  widow  of  the  late  Captain  Alexander  Taylor, 
who  was  master  of  my  ship  Helvetius,  and  died  in  my  employ- 
ment,)  an  annuity,  or  yearly  sum  of  Five  Hundred  Dollars,  to  bo 
paid  in  half-yearly  payments,  in  advance,  of  two  hundred  and  fifty 
dollars  each,  during  her  life. 

4th.  I  give  and  bequeath  to  Mrs.  S.  Hesley,  my  house-keeper 
at  my  place  in  Passyunk  Township,  an  annuity,  or  yearly  sum  of 
Five  Hundred  Dollars,  to  be  paid  in  half-yearly  payments,  in  ad- 
vance, of  two  hundred  and  fifty  dollars  each,  during  her  life. 

5th.  I  give  and  bequeath  to  Marianne  Hesley,  daughter  to  Mrs. 
S.  Hesley,  an  annuity,  or  yearly  sum  of  Three  Hundred  Dollars, 
to  be  paid  to  her  mother,  for  her  use,  in  half-yearly  payments,  in 
advance,  of  one  hundred  and  fifty  dollars  each,  until  the  said  Ma- 
rianne shall  have  attained  the  age  of  twenty-one  years,  when  the 
said  annuity  shall  cease,  and  the  said  Marianne  will  receive  the 
five  hundred  dollars  given  to  her  and  other  indented  persons,  ac- 
cording to  the  clause  XVI.  of  this  Will. 

6th.  I  give  and  bequeath  to  my  late  house-keeper,  Mary  Ken- 
ton, an  annuity,  or  yearly  sum  of  Three  Hundred  Dollars,  to  be 
paid  in  half-yearly  payments,  in  advance,  of  one  hundred  and  fifty 
dollars  each,  during  her  life. 

7th.  I  give  and  bequeath  to  Mrs.  Deborah  Scott,  sister  of  Mary 
Kenton,  and  wife  of  Mr.  Edwin  T.  Scott,  an  annuity,  or  yearly 
sum  of  Three  Hundred  Dollars,  to  be  paid  in  half-yearly  pay- 
ments, in  advance,  of  one  hundred  and  fifty  dollars  each,  during 
her  life. 

8th.  I  give  and  bequeath  to  Mrs.  Catherine  M'Laren,  sister  of 
Mary  Kenton,  and  wife  of  Mr.  M'Laren,  an  annuity,  or  yearly 
sum  of  Three  Hundred  Dollars,  to  be  paid  in  half-yearly  pay- 


64  STEPHEN    GIRARD'S    WILL. 

merits,  in  advance,  of  one  hundred  and  fifty  dollars  each,  during 
her  life. 

9th.  I  give  and  bequeath  to  Mrs.  Amelia  Gr.  Taylor,  wife  of 
Mr.  Kichard  M.  Taylor,  an  annuity  or  yearly  sum  of  Three  Hun- 
dred Dollars,  to  be  paid  in  half-yearly  payments,  in  advance,  of 
one  hundred  and  fifty  dollars  each,  during  her  life. 

XIX.  All  that  part  of  my  real  and  personal  estate,  near  "Wash- 
ita, in  the  State  of  Louisiana,  the  said  real  estate  consisting  of 
upwards  of  two  hundred  and  eighty  thousand  arpens,  or  acres  of 
land,  and  including  therein  the  settlement  hereinafter  mentioned, 
I  give,  devise,  and  bequeath,  as  follows,  namely :  1.  I  give,  devise, 
and  bequeath  to  the  Corporation  of  the  City  of  New  Orleans,  their 
successors  and  assigns,  all  that  part  of  my  real  estate,  constituting 
the  settlement  formed  on  my  behalf  by  my  particular  friend,  Judge 
Henry  Bree,  of  Washita,  consisting  of  upwards  of  one  thousand 
arpens,  or  acres  of  land,  with  the  appurtenances  and  improvements 
thereon,  and  also  all  the  personal  estate  thereto  belonging,  and 
thereon  remaining,  including  upwards  of  thirty  slaves  now  on  said 
settlement,  and  their  increase,  in  trust,  however,  and  subject  to 
the  following  reservations : 

I  desire,  that  no  part  of  the  said  estate  or  property,  or  the  slaves 
thereon,  or  their  increase,  shall  be  disposed  of  or  sold  for  the  term 
of  twenty  years  from  and  after  my  decease,  should  the  said  Judge 
Henry  Bree  survive  me  and  live  so  long,  but  that  the  said  settle- 
ment shall  be  kept  up  by  the  said  Judge  Henry  Bree,  for  and 
during  said  term  of  twenty  years,  as  if  it  was  his  own;  that 
is,  it  shall  remain  under  his  sole  care  and  control;  he  shall 
improve  the  same  by  raising  such  produce  as  he  may  deem  most 
advisable,  and  after  paying  taxes,  and  all  expenses  in  keeping 
up  the  settlement,  by  clothing  the  slaves  and  otherwise,  he  shall 
have  and  enjoy  for  his  own  use,  all  the  nett  profits  of  said  settle- 
ment. Provided,  however,  and  I  desire  that  the  said  Judge  Hen- 
ry Bree,  shall  render,  annually,  to  the  Corporation  of  the  City  of 
New  Orleans,  a  report  of  the  state  of  the  settlement,  the  income 
and  expenditure  thereof,  the  number  and  increase  of  the  slaves, 
and  the  net  result  of  the  whole.     I  desire  that,  at  the  expiration 


STEPHEN   girard's  WILL.  65 

of  the  said  term  of  twenty  years,  or  on  the  decease  of  the  said 
Judge  Henry  Bree,  should  he  not  live  so  long,  the  land  and  im- 
provements forming  said  settlement,  the  slaves  thereon,  or  thereto 
belonging,  and  all  other  appurtenant  personal  property,  shall  be 
Bold,  as  soon  as  the  said  Corporation  shall  deem  it  advisable  to  do 
so,  and  the  proceeds  of  the  said  sale  or  sales  shall  be  applied  by 
the  said  Corporation  to  such  uses  and  purposes  as  they  shall  con- 
sider most  likely  to  promote  the  health  and  general  prosperity  of 
the  inhabitants  of  the  City  of  New  Orleans.  But,  until  the  said 
sale  shall  be  made,  the  said  Corporation  shall  pay  all  taxes,  pre- 
vent waste  or  intrusion,  and  so  manage  the  said  settlement  and 
the  slaves,  and  their  increase  thereon,  as  to  derive  an  income,  and 
the  said  income  shall  be  applied,  from  time  to  time,  to  the  same 
uses  and  purposes  for  the  health  and  general  prosperity  of  the  said 
inhabitants. 

2.  I  give,  devise,  and  bequeath  to  the  Mayor,  Aldermen,  and 
Citizens  of  Philadelphia,  their  successors  and  assigns,  two  undivi- 
ded third  parts  of  all  the  rest  and  residue  of  my  said  real  estate, 
being  the  lands  unimproved  near  Washita,  in  the  said  State  of 
Louisiana,  in  trust,  that,  in  common  with  the  Corporation  of  the 
City  of  New  Orleans,  they  shall  pay  the  taxes  on  the  said  lands, 
and  preserve  them  from  waste  or  intrusion,  for  the  term  of  ten 
years  from  and  after  my  decease,  and  at  the  end  of  the  said  term, 
when  they  shall  deem  it  advisable  to  do  so,  shall  sell  and  dispose 
of  their  interest  in  said  lands  gradually  from  time  to  time,  and 
apply  the  proceeds  of  such  sales  to  the  same  uses  and  purposes 
hereinafter  declared  and  directed,  of  and  concerning  the  residue 
of  my  personal  estate. 

3.  And  I  give,  devise,  and  bequeath  to  the  Corporation  of  the 
City  of  New  Orleans,  their  successors  and  assigns,  the  remaining 
one  undivided  third  part  of  the  said  lands,  in  trust,  in  common 
with  the  Mayor,  Aldermen,  and  Citizens  of  Philadelphia,  to  pay 
the  taxes  on  the  said  lands,  and  preserve  them  from  waste  and 
intrusion,  for  the  term  of  ten  years  from  and  after  my  decease,  and, 
at  the  end  of  the  said  term,  when  they  shall  deem  it  advisable  to 
do  so,  to  sell  and  dispose  of  their  interest  in  said  lands  gradually 

G* 


66  Stephen  girard's  wtll. 

from  time  to  time,  and  to  apply  the  proceeds  of  such  sale  to  such 
uses  and  purposes  as  the  said  Corporation  may  consider  most  likely 
to  promote  the  health  and  general  prosperity  of  the  inhabitants  of 
the  City  of  New  Orleans. 

XX.  And,  whereas,  I  have  been  for  a  long  time  impressed  with 
the  importance  of  educating  the  poor,  and  of  placing  them,  by 
the  early  cultivation  of  their  minds,  and  the  development  of  their 
moral  principles,  above  the  many  temptations  to  which,  through 
poverty  and  ignorance,  they  are  exposed  ;  and  I  am  particularly 
desirous  to  provide  for  such  a  number  of  poor  male  white  orphan 
children,  as  can  be  trained  in  one  institution,  a  better  education, 
as  well  as  a  more  comfortable  maintenance,  than  they  usually 
receive  from  the  application  of  the  public  funds :  and,  whereas, 
together  with  the  object  just  adverted  to,  I  have  sincerely  at  heart 
the  welfare  of  the  City  of  Philadelphia,  and,  as  a  part  of  it,  am 
desirous  to  improve  the  neighbourhood  of  the  river  Delaware,  so 
that  the  health  of  the  citizens  may  be  promoted  and  preserved, 
and  that  the  eastern  part  of  the  city  may  be  made  to  correspond 
better  with  the  interior.  Now,  I  do  give,  devise,  and  bequeath  all 
the  residue  and  remainder  of  my  real  and  personal  estate  of 
every  sort  and  kind  wheresoever  situate,  (the  real  estate  in  Penn- 
sylvania charged  as  foresaid)  unto  "the  Mayor,  Aldermen,  and 
Citizens  of  Philadelphia,"  their  successors  and  assigns,  in  trust,  to 
and  for  the  several  uses,  intents  and  purposes,  hereinafter  men- 
tioned and  declared  of  and  concerning  the  same,  that  is  to  say : 
so  far  as  regards  my  real  estate  in  Pennsylvania,  in  trust,  that  #no 
part  thereof  shall  ever  be  sold  or  alienated  by  the  said  Mayor, 
Aldermen,  and  Citizens  of  Philadelphia,  or  their  successors,  but 
the  same  shall  forever  thereafter  be  let  from  time  to  time,  to  good 
tenants,  at  yearly  or  other  rents,  and  upon  leases  in  possession  not 
exceeding  five  years  from  the  commencement  thereof,  and  that  the 
rents,  issues,  and  profits  arising  therefrom,  shall  be  applied  towards 
keeping  that  part  of  the  said  real  estate  situate  in  the  city  and 
liberties  of  Philadelphia  constantly  in  good  repair,  (parts  else- 
where situate  to  be  kept  in  repair  by  the  tenants  thereof  respec- 
tively) and  towards  improving  the  same,  whenever  necessary,  by 


STEPHEN    GIRARD'S    WILL.  67 

erecting  new  buildings;  and  that  the  net  residue  (after  paying 
the  several  annuities  herein  before  provided  for,)  be  applied  to  the 
same  uses  and  purposes  as  are  herein  declared  of  and  concerning 
the  residue  of  my  personal  estate ;  and  so  far  as  regards  my  real 
estate  in  Kentucky,  now  under  the  care  of  Messrs.  Triplett  and 
Brumley,  in  trust,  to  sell  and  dispose  of  the  same,  vhou*ver  it 
may  be  expedient  to  do  so,  and  to  apply  the  proceeds  of  such  sa^  ' 
to  the  same  uses  and  purposes  as  are  herein  declared  of  and  con- 
cerning the  residue  of  my  personal  estate. 

XXI.  And  so  far  as  regards  the  residue  of  my  personal  estate, 
in  trust,  as  to  two  millions  of  dollars,  part  thereof,  to  apply  and 
expend  so  much  of  that  sum  as  may  be  necessary,  in  erecting,  as 
soon  as  practicably  may  be,  in  the  centre  of  my  square  of  ground 
between  High  and  Chestnut  streets,  and  Eleventh  and  Twelfth 
streets,  in  the  City  of  Philadelphia,  (which  square  of  ground  I 
hereby  devote  for  the  purposes  hereinafter  stated,  and  for  no 
other,  forever,)  a  permanent  college,  with  suitable  out-buildings, 
sufficiently  spacious  for  the  residence  and  accommodation  of  at  least 
three  hundred  scholars,  and  the  requisite  teachers  and  other 
persons  necessary  in  such  an  institution  as  I  direct  to  be  established, 
and  in  supplying  the  said  college  and  out-buildings  with  decent 
and  suitable  furniture,  as  well  as  books  and  all  things  needful  to 
carry  into  effect  my  general  design. 

The  said  college  shall  be  constructed  with  the  most  durable  ma- 
terials, and  in  the  most  permanent  manner,  avoiding  needless 
ornament,  and  attending  chiefly  to  the  strength,  convenience,  and 
neatness  of  the  whole  :  It  shall  be  at  least  one  hundred  and  ten 
feet  east  and  west,  and  one  hundred  and  sixty  feet  north  and  south, 
and  shall  be  built  on  lines  parallel  with  High  and  Chestnut  streets, 
and  Eleventh  and  Twelfth  streets,  provided  those  lines  shall  consti- 
tute  at  their  junction  right  angles  :  It  shall  be  three  stories  in  height, 
each  story  at  least  fifteen  fpet  high  in  the  clear  from  the  floor  to 
the  cornice  :  It  shall  be  fire-proof  inside  and  outside.  The  floors 
and  the  roof  to  be  formed  of  solid  materials,  on  arches  turned  on 
proper  centres,  so  that  no  wood  may  be  used,  except  for  doors,  win- 
dows, and  shutters:  Cellars  shall  be  made  under  the  building, 


68  STEPHEN    GIRARD's    WILL. 

solely  for  the  purposes  of  the  institution  ;  the  doors  to  them  from 
the  outside  shall  be  on  the  east  and  west  of  the  building,  and 
access  to  them  from  the  inside  shall  be  had  by  steps,  descending 
to  the  cellar  floor  from  each  of  the  entries  or  halls  hereinafter  men- 
tioned, and  the  inside  cellar  doors  to  open  under  the  stairs  on  the 
north-cast  and  north-west  corners  of  the  northern  entry,  and  under 
the  stairs  on  the  south-east  and  south-west  corners  of  the  southern 
entry ;  there  shall  be  a  cellar  window  under  and  in  line  with  each 
window  in  the  first  story  —  they  shall  be  built  one  half  below,  the 
other  half  above  the  surface  of  the  ground,  and  the  ground  out- 
side each  window  shall  be  supported  by  stout  walls;  the  sashes 
should  open  inside,  on  hinges,  like  doors,  and  there  should  be 
strong  iron  bars  outside  each  window ;  the  windows  inside  and  out- 
side should  not  be  less  than  four  feet  wide  in  the  clear :  There 
shall  be  in  each  story  four  rooms,  each  room  not  less  than  fifty  feet 
square  in  the  clear;  the  four  rooms  on  each  floor  to  occupy  the 
whole  space  east  and  west  on  such  floor  or  story,  and  the  middle  of 
the  building  north  and  south ;  so  that  in  the  north  of  the  building, 
and  in  the  south  thereof,  there  may  remain  a  space  of  equal  di- 
mensions, for  an  entry  or  hall  in  each,  for  stairs  and  landings  :  Iu 
the  north-east,  and  in  the  north-west  corners  of  the  northern  entry 
or  hall  on  the  first  floor,  stairs  shall  be  made  so  as  to  form  a  dou- 
ble stair-case,  which  shall  be  carried  up  through  the  several  stories ; 
and,  in  like  manner,  in  the  south-east  and  south-west  corners  of 
the  southern  entry  or  hall,  stairs  shall  be  made,  on  the  first  floor, 
so  as  to  form  a  double  stair-case,  to  be  carried  up  through  the  sev- 
eral stories ;  the  steps  of  the  stairs  to  be  made  of  smooth  white  mar- 
ble, with  plain  square  edges,  each  step  not  to  exceed  nine  inches 
in  the  rise,  nor  to  be  less  than  ten  inches  in  the  tread ;  the  outside 
and  inside  foundation  walls  shall  be  at  least  ten  feet  high  in  the 
clear  from  the  ground  to  the  ceiling  ;  the  first  floor  shall  be  at  least 
three  feet  above  the  level  of  the  ground  around  the  building,  after 
that  ground  shall  have  been  so  regulated  as  that  there  shall  be  a 
gradual  descent  from  the  centre  to  the  side  of  the  square  formed 
by  High  and  Chestnut  and  Eleventh  and  Twelfth  streets ;  all  the 
outside  foundation  walls,  forming  the  cellars,  shall  be  three  feet 


STEPHEN    GIRARD'S    WILL.  69 

six  inches  thick  up  to  the  first  floor,  or  as  high  as  may  be  necessary 
to  fix  the  centres  for  the  first  floor ;  and  the  inside  foundation  wall, 
running  north  and  south,  and  the  three  inside  foundation  walls 
running  east  and  west  (intended  to  receive  the  interior  walls  for 
the  four  rooms,  each  not  less  than  fifty  feet  square  in  the  clear, 
above  mentioned,)  shall  be  three  feet  thick  up  to  the  first  floor,  or  as 
high  as  may  be  necessary  to  fix  the  centres  for  the  first  floor;  when 
carried  so  far  up,  the  outside  walls  shall  be  reduced  to  two  feet  in 
thickness,  leaving  a  recess  outside  of  one  foot,  and  inside  of  six 
inches — and  when  carrried  so  far  up,  the  inside  foundation  walls 
shall  also  be  reduced,  six  inches  on  each  side,  to  the  thickness  of 
two  .feet ;  centres  shall  then  be  fixed  on  the  various  recesses  of  six 
inches  throughout,  left  for  the  purpose,  the  proper  arches  shall  be 
turned,  and  the  first  floor  laid;  the  outside  and  the  inside  wall 
shall  then  be  carried  up  to  the  thickness  of  two  feet  throughout, 
as  high  as  may  be  necessary  to  begin  the  recess  intended  to  fix  the 
centres  of  the  second  floor,  that  is,  the  floor  of  the  four  rooms,  each 
not  less  than  fifty  feet  square  in  the  clear,  and  for  the  landing  in  the 
north,  and  the  landing  in  the  south  of  the  building,  where  the 
stairs  are  to  go  up  —  at  this  stage  of  the  work,  a  chain,  composed 
of  bars  of  inch  square  iron,  each  bar  about  ten  feet  long,  and  linked 
together  by  hooks  formed  of  the  ends  0f  the  bars,  shall  be  laid 
straightly  and  horizontally  along  the  several  walls,  and  shall  be  as 
tightly  as  possibly  worked  into  the  centre  of  them  throughout,  and 
shall  be  secured  wherever  necessary,  especially  at  all  the  angles,  by 
iron  clamps  solidly  fastened,  so  as  to  prevent  cracking  or  swerving 
in  any  part;  centres  shall  then  be  laid,  the  proper  arches  turned 
for  the  second  floor  and  landings,  and  the  second  floor  and  landings 
shall  be  laid ;  the  outside  and  the  inside  walls  shall  then  be  car- 
ried up  of  the  same  thickness  of  two  feet  throughout  as  high  as 
may  be  necessary  to  begin  in  the  recess  intended  to  fix  the  centres 
for  the  third  floor  and  landings,  and,  when  so  far  carried  up,  ano- 
ther chain  similar  in  all  respects  to  that  used  at  the  second  story, 
shall  be  in  like  manner  worked  into  the  walls  throughout,  as 
tightly  as  possible,  and  clamped  in  the  same  way  with  equal  care ; 
centres  shall  be  formed,  the  proper  arches  turned,  and  the  third 


70  STEPHEN    GIRARD'S    WILL. 

floor  and  landings  shall  be  laid;  the  outside  and  the  inside  walls 
shall  then  be  carried  up,  of  the  same  thickness  of  two  feet 
throughout,  as  high  as  may  be  necessary  to  begin  the  recess  in- 
tended to  fix  the  centres  for  the  roof;  and,  when  so  carried  up,  a 
third  chain,  in  all  respects  like  those  used  at  the  second  and  third 
stories,,  shall,  in  the  manner  before  described,  be  worked  as  tightly 
as  possible  into  the  walls  throughout,  and  shall  be  clamped  with 
equal  care ;  centres  shall  now  be  fixed  in  the  manner  best  adapted 
for  the  roof,  which  is  to  form  the  ceiling  for  the  third  story,  the 
proper  arches  shall  be  turned,  and  the  roof  shall  be  laid  as  nearly 
horizontally  as  may  be,  consistently  with  the  easy  passage  of  water 
to  the  eaves:  the  outside  walls,  still  of  the  thickness  of  two  feet 
throughout,  shall  then  be  carried  up  about  two  feet  above  the  level 
of  the  platform,  and  shall  have  marble  capping,  with  a  strong  and 
neat  iron  railing  thereon  :  The  outside  walls  shall  be  faced  with 
slabs  or  blocks  of  marble  or  granite,  not  less  than  two  feet  thick, 
and  fastened  together  with  clamps  securely  sunk  therein,  —  they 
shall  be  carried  up  flush  from  the  recess  formed  at  the  first  floor 
where  the  foundation  outside  wall  is  reduced  to  two  feet :  The 
floors  and  landings,  as  well  as  the  roof,  shall  be  covered  with  mar- 
ble slabs,  securely  laid  in  mortar ;  the  slabs  on  the  roof  to  be  twice 
as  thick  as  those  on  the  floors.  In  constructing  the  walls,  as  well 
as  in  turning  the  arches,  and  laying  the  floors,  landings,  and  roof, 
good  and  strong  mortar  and  grout  shall  be  used,  so  that  no  cavity 
whatever  may  any  where  remain.  A  furnace  or  furnaces  for  the 
generation  of  heated  air  shall  be  placed  in  the  cellar,  and  the  heated 
air  shall  be  introduced  in  adequate  quantity,  wherever  wanted,  by 
means  of  pipes  and  flues  inserted  and  made  for  the  purpose  in  the 
walls,  and  as  those  walls  shall  be  constructed.  In  case  it  shall  be 
found  expedient  for  the  purposes  of  a  library,  or  otherwise,  to  in- 
crease the  number  of  rooms,  by  dividing  any  of  those  directed  to 
be  not  less  than  fifty  feet  square  in  the  clear,  into  parts,  the  par- 
tition walls  to  be  of  solid  materials.  A  room  most  suitable  for  the 
purpose,  shall  be  set  apart  for  the  reception  and  preservation  of 
my  books  and  papers,  and  I  direct  that  they  shall  be  placed  there 
by  my  executors,  and  carefully  preserved  therein.     There  shall  be 


STEPHEN    GIRARD'S    WILL.  71 

two  principal  doors  of  entrance  into  the  college,  one  into  the  entrj 
or  hall  on  the  first  floor,  in  the  north  of  the  building,  and  in  the 
centre  between  the  east  and  west  walls,  the  other  in  the  entry  or 
hall  in  the  south  of  the  building,  and  in  the  centre  between  the 
east  and  west  walls  j  the  dimensions  to  be  determined  by  a  due 
regard  to  the  size  of  the  entire  building,  to  that  of  the  entry,  and 
to  the  purpose  of  the  doors.  The  necessity  for,  as  well  as  the 
position  and  size  of  other  doors,  internal  or  external,  and  also 
the  position  and  size  of  the  windows,  to  be,  in  like  manner,  decided 
on  by  a  consideration  of  the  uses  to  which  the  building  is  to  be 
applied,  the  size  of  the  building  itself,  and  of  the  several  rooms, 
and  of  the  advantages  of  light  and  air :  there  should  in  each  in- 
stance be  double  doors,  those  opening  into  the  rooms  to  be  what 
are  termed  glass  doors,  so  as  to  increase  the  quantity  of  light  for 
each  room,  and  those  opening  outward  to  be  of  substantial  wood 
work  well  lined  and  secured ;  the  windows  of  the  second  and  third 
stories  I  recommend  to  be  made  in  the  style  of  those  in  the 
first  and  second  stories  of  my  present  dwelling  house,  North  Water 
Street,  on  the  eastern  front  thereof;  and  outside  each  window  I 
recommend  that  a  substantial  and  neat  iron  balcony  be  placed, 
sufficiently  wide  to  admit  the  opening  of  the  shutters  against  the 
walls;  the  windows  of  the  lower  story  to  be  in  the  same  style, 
except  that  they  are  not  to  descend  to  the  floor,  but  so  far  as  the 
surbase,  up  to  which  the  wall  is  to  be  carried,  as  is  the  case  in  the 
lower  story  of  my  house  at  my  place  in  Passyunk  Township.  In 
minute  particulars  not  here  noticed,  utility  and  good  taste  should 
determine.  There  should  be  at  least  four  out-buildings,  detached 
from  the  main  edifice,  and  from  each  other,  and  in  such  positions 
as  shall  at  once  answer  the  purposes  of  the  institution,  and  be  con- 
sistent with  the  symmetry  of  the  whole  establishment :  each  build- 
ing should  be,  as  far  as  practicable,  devoted  to  a  distinct  purpose : 
in  that  one  or  more  of  those  buildings,  in  which  they  may  be 
most  useful,  I  direct  my  executors  to  place  my  plate  and  furniture 
of  every  sort. 

The  entire  square,  formed  by  High  and  Chestnut  streets,  and 
Eleventh  and  Twelfth  streets,  shall  be  enclosed  with  a  solid  wall, 


7 '2  STEPHEN    GIRAIvD's   WILL. 

<vt  least  fourteen  inches  thick,  and  ten  feet  high,  capped  with  mar- 
ole  and  guarded  with  irons  on  the  top,  so  as  to  prevent  persons 
from  getting  over ;  there  shall  be  two  places  of  entrance  into  the 
«quare,  one  in  the  centre  of  the  wall  facing  High  street,  and  the 
\ther  in  the  centre  of  the  wall  facing  Chestnut  street:  at  each  place 
of  entrance  there  shall  be  two  gates,  one  opening  inward,  and  the 
other  outward,  those  opening  inward  to  be  of  iron,  and  in  the  style 
of  the  gates  north  and  south  of  my  Banking  House ;  and  those 
opening  outward  to  be  of  substantial  wood  work,  well  lined  and 
secured  on  the  faces  thereof  with  sheet-iron.  The  messuages  now 
erected  on  the  south-east  corner  of  High  and  Twelfth  streets,  and 
on  Twelfth  street,  to  be  taken  down  and  removed  as  soon  as  the 
College  and  out-buildings  shall  have  been  erected,  so  that  the  es- 
tablishment may  be  rendered  secure  and  private. 

When  the  College  and  appurtenances  shall  have  been  constructed 
and  supplied  with  plain  and  suitable  furniture  and  books,  philoso- 
phical and  experimental  instruments  and  apparatus,  and  all  other 
matters  needful  to  carry  my  general  design  into  execution ;  the 
income,  issues,  and  profits  of  so  much  of  the  said  sum  of  two  mil- 
lion of  dollars  as  shall  remain  unexpended,  shall  be  applied  to 
maintain  the  said  college  according  to  my  directions. 

1.  The  Institution  shall  be  organized  as  soon  as  practicable,  and 
to  accomplish  the  purpose  more  effectually,  due  public  notice  of 
the  intended  opening  of  the  college  shall  be  given  —  so  that  there 
may  be  an  opportunity  to  make  selections  of  competent  instructors, 
and  other  agents,  and  those  who  may  have  the  charge  of  orphans 
may  be  aware  of  the  provision  intended  for  them. 

2.  A  competent  number  of  instructors,  teachers,  assistants,  and 
other  necessary  agents  shall  be  selected,  and  when  needful,  their 
places,  from  time  to  time,  supplied  :  they  shall  receive  adequate 
compensation  for  their  services;  but  no  person  shall  be  employed, 
who  shall  not  be  of  tried'  skill  in  his  or  her  proper  department,  of 
established  moral  character,  and  in  all  cases  persons  shall  be  chosen 
on  account  of  their  merit,  and  not  through  favor  or  intrigue. 


STEPHEN    GIRARD'S    WILL.  73 

3.  As  many  poor  white  male  orphans,  between  the  age  of  six 
and  ten  years,  as  the  said  income  shall  be  adequate  to  maintain, 
shall  be  introduced  into  the  college  as  soon  as  possible ;  and  from 
time  to  time,  as  there  may  be  vacancies,  or  as  increased  ability 
from  income  may  warrant,  others  shall  be  introduced. 

4.  On  the  application  for  admission,  an  accurate  statement  should 
be  taken  in  a  book,  prepared  for  the  purpose,  of  the  name,  birth- 
place, age,  health,  condition  as  to  relatives,  and  other  particulars 
useful  to  be  known  of  each  orphan. 

5.  No  orphan  should  be  admitted  until  the  guardians  or  direc- 
tors of  the  poor,  or  a  proper  guardian  or  other  competent  authority, 
shall  have  given,  by  indenture,  relinquishment,  or  otherwise,  ade- 
quate power  to  the  Mayor,  Aldermen  and  Citizens  of  Philadelphia, 
or  to  directors,  or  others  by  them  appointed,  to  enforce,  in  relation 
to  each  orphan,  every  proper  restraint,  and  to  prevent  relatives  or 
others  from  interfering  with,  or  withdrawing  such  orphan  from  the 
institution, 

6.  Those  orphans,  for  whose  admission  application  shall  first  be 
made  shall  be  first  introduced,  all  other  things  concurring  —  and 
at  all  future  times,  priority  of  application  shall  entitle  the  applicant 
to  preference  in  admission,  all  other  things  concurring;  but  if  there 
shall  be,  at  any  time,  more  applicants  than  vacancies,  and  the  ap- 
plying orphans  shall  have  been  born  in  different  places,  a  prefe- 
rence shall  be  given  -  -first,  to  orphans  born  in  the  city  of  Phila- 
delphia ;  secondly,  to  those  born  in  any  other  part  of  Pennsylvania ; 
thirdly,  to  those  born  in  the  city  of  New  York  (that  being  the 
first  port  on  the  continent  of  North  America  at  which  I  arrived :) 
and  lastly,  to  those  born  in  the  City  of  New  Orleans,  being  the 
first  port  on  the  said  continent  at  which  I  first  traded,  in  the  first 
instance  as  first  officer,  and  subsequently  as  master  and  part  owner 
of  a  vessel  and  cargo. 

7.  The  orphans  admitted  into  the  College,  shall  be  there  fed 
with  plain  but  wholesome  food,  clothed  with  plain  but  decent  ap- 
parel, (no  distinctive  dress  ever  to  be  worn)  and  lodged  in  a  plain 


74  STEPHEN    GIRARD's    WILL. 

but  safe  manner ;  Due  regard  shall  be  paid  to  their  health,  and  to 
this  end  their  persons  an^  clothes  shall  be  kept  clean,  and  they 
shall  have  suitable  and  rational  exercise  and  recreation  :  They  shall 
be  instructed  in  the  various  branches  of  a  sound  education,  com- 
prehending reading,  writing,  grammar,  arithmetic,  geography, 
navigation,  surveying,  practical  mathematics,  astronomy;  natural, 
chemical  and  experimental  philosophy,  the  French  and  Spanish 
languages,  (I  do  not  forbid,  but  I  do  not  recommend  the  Greek  and 
Latin  languages)  —  and  such  other  learning  and  science  as  the 
capacities  of  the  several  scholars  may  merit  or  warrant :  I  would 
have  them  taught  facts  and  things,  rather  than  words  or  signs; 
and  especially,  I  desire,  that  by  every  proper  means  a  pure  attach- 
ment to  our  llepublican  Institutions,  and  to  the  sacred  rights  of 
conscience,  as  guaranteed  by  our  happy  constitutions,  shall  be 
formed  and  fostered  in  the  minds  of  the  scholars. 

8.  Should  it  unfortunately  happen,  that  any  of  the  orphans 
admitted  into  the  College,  shall,  from  malconduct,  have  become 
unfit  companions  for  the  rest,  and  mild  means  of  reformation  prove 
abortive,  they  shall  no  longer  remain  therein. 

9.  Those  scholars,  who  shall  merit  it,  shall  remain  in  the  Col- 
lege until  they  shall  respectively  arrive  at  between  fourteen  and 
eighteen  years  of  age;  they  shall  then  be  bound  out  by  the  Mayor, 
Aldermen  and  Citizens  of  Philadelphia,  or  under  their  direction, 
to  suitable  occupations,  as  those  of  agriculture,  navigation,  arts, 
mechanical  trades,  and  manufactures,  according  to  the  capacities 
and  acquirements  of  the  scholars  respectively,  consulting,  as  far 
as  prudence  shall  justify  it,  the  inclinations  of  the  several  scholars, 
as  to  the  occupation,  art  or  trade,  to  be  learned. 

In  relation  to  the  organization  of  the  College  and  its  appenda- 
ges, I  leave,  necessarily,  many  details  to  the  Mayor,  Aldermen  and 
Citizens  of  Philadelphia,  and  their  successors ;  and  I  do  so,  with 
the  more  confidence,  as,  from  the  nature  of  my  bequests,  and  the 
benefits  to  result  from  them,  I  trust  that  my  fellow-citizens  of 
Philadelphia  will  observe  and  evince  especial  care  and  anxiety 
in  selecting  members  for  their  City  Councils,  and  other  agents. 


STEPHEN    GIRARD's    WILL.  75 

There  are,  however,  some  restrictions,  which  I  consider  it  iny 
duty  to  prescribe,  and  to  be,  amongst  ethers,  conditions  on  which 
my  bequest  for  said  College  is  made,  and  to  be  enjoyed,  namely; 
first,  I  enjoin  and  require,  that  if  at  the  close  of  any  year,  the 
income  of  the  fund  devoted  to  the  purposes  of  the  said  College 
shall  be  more  than  sufficient  for  the  maintenance  of  the  Institution 
during  that  year,  then  the  balance  of  the  said  income,  after  defray 
ing  such  maintenance,  shall  be  forthwith  invested  in  good  securi- 
ties, thereafter  to  be  and  remain  a  part  of  the  capital ;  but  in  no 
event,  shall  any  part  of  the  said  capital  be  sold,  disposed  of,  or 
pledged,  to  meet  the  current  expenses  of  the  said  Institution,  to 
which  I  devote  the  interest,  income  and  dividends  thereof,  exclu- 
sively :  Secondly,  I  enjoin  and  require  that  no  ecclesiastic,  mis- 
sionary, or  minister  of  any  sect  whatsoever,  shall  ever  hold  or 
exercise  any  station  or  duty  whatever  in  the  said  College ;  nor 
shall  any  such  person  ever  be  admitted  for  any  purpose,  or  as  a 
visitor,  icithin  the  premises  appropriated  to  the  purposes  of  the 
said  college :  —  In  making  this  restriction,  I  do  not  mean  to  cast 
any  reflection  upon  any  sect  or  person  whatsoever ;  but  as  there  is 
such  a  multitude  of  sects,  and  such  a  diversity  of  opinion  amongst 
them,  I  desire  to  keep  the  tender  minds  of  the  orphans,  who  are 
to  derive  advantage  from  this  bequest,  free  from  the  excitement 
which  clashing  doctrines  and  sectarian  controversy  are  so  apt  to 
produce ;  my  desire  is,  that  all  the  instructors  and  teachers  in  the 
College,  shall  take  pains  to  instil  into  the  minds  of  the  scholars, 
the  purest  principles  of  morality,  so  that,  on  their  entrance  into 
active  life,  they  may/rom  inclination  and  habit,  evince  benevolence 
toward  their  fellow  creatures,  and  a  love  of  truth,  sobriety,  and 
industry,  adopting  at  the  same  time,  such  religious  tenets  as  their 
matured  reason  may  enable  them  to  prefer.  If  the  income,  aris- 
ing from  that  part  of  the  said  sum  of  two  millions  of  dollars,  re- 
maining after  the  construction  and  furnishing  of  the  College  and 
out-buildings,  shall,  owing  to  the  increase  of  the  number  of  orphans 
applying  for  admission,  or  other  cause,  be  inadequate  to  the  con- 
struction of  new  buildings,  or  the  maintenance  and  education  of 
as  many  orphans  as  may  apply  for  admission,  then  such  further 


76  STEPHEN    GIRARD'S    WILL. 

'3iim  as  may  be  necessary  for  the  construction  of  new  buildings  and 
the  maintenance  and  education  of  such  further  number  of  orphans, 
as  can  be  maintained  and  instructed  within  such  buildings  as  the 
said  square  of  ground  shall  be  adequate  to,  shall  be  taken  from 
the  final  residuary  fund  hereinafter  expressly  referred  to  for  the 
purpose,  comprehending  the  income  of  my  real  estate  in  the  city 
and  county  of  Philadelphia,  and  the  dividends  of  my  stock  in  the 
Schuylkill  Navigation  Company — my  design  and  desire  being,  that 
the  benefits  of  said  institution  shall  be  extended  to  as  great  a  num- 
ber of  orphans,  as  the  limits  of  the  said  square  and  buildings  there- 
in can  accommodate. 

XXII.  And  as  to  the  further  sum  of  Five  Hundred  Thousand 
Dollars ,  part  of  the  residue  of  my  personal  estate,  in  trust,  to 
invest  the  same  securely,  and  to  keep  the  same  so  invested,  and  to 
apply  the  income  thereof  exclusively  to  the  following  purposes  : 
that  is  to  say — 

1.  To  lay  out,  regulate,  curb,  light,  and  pave  a  passage  or  street 
on  the  east  part  of  the  City  of  Philadelphia,  fronting  the  river 
Delaware,  not  less  than  twenty-one  feet  wide,  and  to  be  called 
Delaware  Jlvenue,  extending  from  Vine  to  Cedar  street,  all  along 
the  east  part  of  Water  street  squares,  and  the  west  side  of  the 
logs,  which  form  the  heads  of  the  docks,  or  thereabouts;  and  to 
this  intent  to  obtain  such  Acts  of  Assembly,  and  to  make  such 
purchases  or  agreements,  as  will  enable  the  Mayor,  Aldermen, 
and  Citizens  of  Philadelphia,  to  remove  or  pull  down  all  the  build- 
ings, fences,  and  obstructions  which  may  be  in  the  way,  and  to 
prohibit  all  buildings,  fences,  or  erections  of  any  kind  to  the  east- 
ward of  said  Avenue ;  to  fill  up  the  heads  of  such  of  the  docks  as 
may  not  afford  sufficient  room  for  the  said  street;  to  compel  the 
owners  of  wharves  to  keep  them  clean,  and  covered  completely 
with  gravel  or  other  hard  materials,  and  to  be  so  levelled  that 
water  will  not  remain  thereon  after  a  shower  of  rain;  to  com- 
pletely clean  and  keep  clean  all  the  docks  within  the  limits  of 
the  city,  fronting  on  the  Delaware;  and  to  pull  down  all  plat- 
forms carried  out,  from  the  east  part  of  the  city  over  the  river 
Delaware,  on  piles  or  pillars. 


STEPHEN   GIRARD'S   WILL.  77 

2.  To  pull  down  and  remove  all  wooden  buildings,  as  well  those 
made  of  wood  and  other  combustible  materials,  as  those  called 
brick-paned,  or  frame  buildings  filled  in  with  bricks,  that  are  erected 
within  the  limits  of  the  City  of  Philadelphia,  and  also  to  prohibit 
the  erection  of  any  such  building,  within  the  said  city's  limits  at 
any  future  time. 

3.  To  regulate,  widen,  pave,  and  curb  Water  street,  and  to  dis- 
tribute the  Schuylkill  water  therein,  upon  the  following  plan, 
that  is  to  say — that  Water  street  be  widened  east  and  west  from 
Vine  street,  all  the  way  to  South  street,  in  like  manner  as  it  is 
from  the  front  of  my  dwelling  to  the  front  of  my  stores  on  the 
west  side  of  Water  street,  and  the  regulation  of  the  curb-stones 
continued  at  the  same  distance  from  one  another  as  they  are  at 
present  opposite  to  the  said  dwelling  and  stores,  so  that  the  regu- 
lation of  the  said  street  be  not  less  than  thirty-nine  feet  wide, 
and  afford  a  large  and  convenient  footway,  clear  of  obstructions 
and  incumbrances  of  every  nature,  and  the  cellar  doors  on  which, 
if  any  shall  be  permitted,  not  to  extend  from  the  buildings  on  to 
the  footway  more  than  four  feet ;  the  said  width  to  be  increased 
gradually,  as  the  fund  shall  permit,  and  as  the  capacity  to  remove 
impediments  shall  increase,  until  there  shall  be  a  correct  and  per- 
manent regulation  of  Water  street,  on  the  principles  above  stated, 
so  that  it  may  run  north  and  south  as  straight  as  possible.  That 
the  ten  feet  middle  alley,  belonging  to  the  public,  and  running 
from  the  centre  of  the  east  squares  to  Front  street,  all  the  way 
down  across  Water  street  to  the  river  Delaware,  be  kept  open  and 
cleansed  as  city  property,  all  the  way  from  Vine  to  South  street; 
that  such  part  of  each  centre  or  middle  alley  as  runs  from  Front 
to  Water  street,  be  arched  over  with  bricks  or  stone,  in  so  strong 
a  manner  as  to  facilitate  the  building  of  plain  and  permanent 
stone  steps  and  platforms,  so  that  they  may  be  washed  and  kept 
constantly  clean ;  and  that  the  continuance  of  the  said  alleys,  from 
the  east  side  of  Water  street,  be  curbed  all  the  way  to  the  river 
Delaware,  and  kept  open  forever.  (I  understand  that  those  mid- 
dle or  centre  alleys  were  left  open  in  the  first  plan  of  the  Iocs,  on 
the  east  front  of  the  city,  which  were  granted  from  the  east  side 

7* 


78  STEPHEN    GIRARD'S   WILL. 

of  Front  street  to  the  river  Delaware,  and  that  each  lot  on  said 
cast  front  has  contributed  to  make  those  alleys,  by  giving  a  part 
of  their  ground  in  proportion  to  the  size  of  each  lot;  those  alleys 
Were  in  the  first  instance,  and  still  are,  considered  public  property, 
intended  for  the  convenience  of  the  inhabitants  residing  in  Front 
street,  to  go  down  to  the  river  for  water  and  other  purposes ;  but, 
owing  to  neglect  or  to  some  other  cause,  on  the  part  of  those  who 
have  had  the  care  of  the  city  property,  several  encroachments 
have  been  made  on  them  by  individuals,  by  wholly  occupying,  or 
building  over  them,  or  otherwise,  and  in  that  way  the  inhabitants, 
more  particularly  those  who  reside  in  the  neighborhood,  are  de- 
prived of  the  benefit  of  that  wholesome  air,  which  their  opening 
and  cleansing  throughout  would  afford.)  That  the  iron  pipes,  in 
Water  street,  which,  by  being  of  smaller  size  than  those  in  the 
other  streets,  and  too  near  the  surface  of  the  ground,  cause  con- 
stant leaks,  particularly  in  the  winter  season,  which  in  many  places 
render  the  street  impassable,  be  taken-  up  and  replaced  by  pipes  of 
the  same  size,  quality,  and  dimensions  in  every  respect,  and  laid 
down  as  deeply  from  the  surface  of  the  ground,  as  the  iron  pipes 
which  are  laid  in  the  main  streets  of  the  city;  and  as  it  respects 
pumps  for  Schuylkill  water  and  fire-plugs  in  Water  street,  that  one 
of  each  be  fixed  at  the  south-west  corner  of  Vine  and  Water 
streets,  and  so  running  southward,  one  of  each  near  the  steps  of 
the  centre  alley,  going  up  to  Front  street;  one  of  each  at  the 
south-west  corner  of  Sassafras  and  Water  Street;  one  of  each 
near  the  steps  of  the  centre  alley  going  up  to  Front  street,  and  so 
on  at  every  south-west  corner  of  all  the  main  streets  and  Water 
street,  .and  of  the  centre  alleys  of  every  square,  as  far  as  South 
or  Cedar  street;  and  when  the  same  shall  have  been  completed, 
that  all  Water  street  shall  be  repaved  by  the  best  workmen,  in  the 
most  complete  manner,  with  the  best  paving  water-stones,  after 
the  height  of  the  curbstones  shall  have  been  regulated  through- 
out, as  well  as  the  ascent  and  descent  of  the  street,  in  such 
manner  as  to  conduct  the  water  through  the  main  streets  and  the 
centre  alleys  to  the  river  Delaware,  as  far  as  practicable;  and 
whenever  any  part  of  the  street  shall  want  to  be  raised,  to  use  no- 


STEPHEN    GIRARD  S    WILL.  t\J 

thing  but  good  paving  gravel  for  that  purpose,  so  as  to  make  the 
paving  as  permanent  as  possible.  By  all  which  improvements,  it 
is  my  intention  to  place  and  maintain  the  section  of  the  city  above 
referred  to,  in  a  condition  which  will  correspond  better  with  the 
general  cleanliness  and  appearance  of  the  whole  city,  and  be  mora 
consistent  with  the  safety,  health,  and  comfort  of  the  citizens. 
And  my  mind  and  will  are,  that  all  the  income,  interest,  and  divi- 
dends of  the  said  capital  sum  of  five  hundred  thousand  dollars 
shall  be  yearly,  and  every  year,  expended  upon  the  said  objects, 
in  the  order  in  which  I  have  stated  them,  as  closely  as  possible, 
and  upon  no  other  objects  until  those  enumerated  shall  have  been 
attained :  and  when  those  objects  shall  have  been  accomplished,  I 
authorize  and  direct  the  said,  the  Mayor,  Aldermen,  and  Citizens, 
to  apply  such  part  of  the  income  of  the  said  capital  sum  of  five 
hundred  thousand  dollars,  as  they  may  think  proper,  to  the  further 
improvement,  from  time  to  time,  of  the  eastern  or  Delaware  front 
of  the  city. 

XXIII.  I  give  and  bequeath  to  the  Commonwealth  of  Pennsyl- 
vania, the  sum  of  Three  Hundred  Thousand  Dollars,  for  the 
purpose  of  internal  improvements  by  canal  navigation,  to  be  paid 
into  the  State  treasury  by  my  executors,  as  soon  as  such  laws  shall 
have  been  enacted  by  the  constituted  authorities  of  the  said  Com- 
monwealth as  shall  be  necessary,  and  amply  sufficient  to  carry  into 
effect,  or  to  enable  the  constituted  authorities  of  the  city  of  Phila- 
delphia to  carry  into  effect,  the  several  improvements  above  speci- 
fied; namely,  1.  Laws,  to  cause  Delaware  Avenue,  as  above 
described,  to  be  made,  paved,  curbed,  and  lighted;  to  cause  the 
buildings,  fences,  and  other  obstructions  now  existing,  to  be  abated 
and  removed;  and  to  prohibit  the  creation  of  any  such  obstructions 
to  the  eastward  of  said  Delaware  Avenue ;  2.  Laws,  to  cause  all 
wooden  buildings,  as  above  described,  to  be  removed,  and  to  pro- 
hibit their  future  erection  within  the  limits  of  the  city  of  Phila- 
delphia; 3.  Laws,  providing  for  the  gradual  widening,  regulating 
paving,  and  curbing  Water  street,  as  hereinbefore  described,  and 
also  for  the  repairing  the  middle  alleys,  and  introducing  the 
Schuylkill   water,  and   pumps,  as   before   specified  —  all   which 


80  STEPHEN    GIRARD's   WILL. 

objects  may,  I  persuade  myself,  be  accomplisbed  on  principles  at 
once  just  in  relation  to  individuals,  and  highly  beneficial  to  the 
public :  the  said  sum,  however,  not  to  be  paid,  unless  said  laws  be 
passed  within  one  year  after  my  decease. 

XXIV.  And  as  it  regards  the  remainder  of  said  residue  of  my 
personal  estate,  in  trust,  to  invest  the  same  in  good  securities,  and 
in  like  manner  to  invest  the  interest  and  income  thereof,  from 
time  to  time,  so  that  the  whole  shall  form  a  permanent  fund ;  and 
to  apply  the  income  of  the  said  fund, 

1st.  To  the  further  improvement  and  maintenance  of  the 
aforesaid  College,  as  directed  in  the  last  paragraph  of  the  XXIst 
clause  of  this  Will. 

2d.  To  enable  the  Corporation  of  the  City  of  Philadelphia  to 
provide  more  effectually  than  they  now  do,  for  the  security  of  the 
persons  and  property  of  the  inhabitants  of  the  said  city  by  a  com- 
petent police,  including  a  sufficient  number  of  watchmen,  really 
suited  to  the  purpose  :  and  to  this  cud,  I  recommend  a  division  of 
the  city  into  watch  districts,  or  four  parts,  each  under  a  proper 
head,  and  that  at  least  two  watchmen  shall,  in  each  round  or  sta- 
tion, patrol  together. 

3d.  To  enable  the  said  Corporation  to  improve  the  city  property, 
and  the  general  appearance  of  the  city  itself,  and,  in  effect,  to 
diminish  the  burden  of  taxation,  now  most  oppressive,  especially 
on  those  who  are  the  least  able  to  bear  it :  — 

To  all  which  objects,  the  prosperity  of  the  city,  and  the  health 
and  comfort  of  its  inhabitants,  I  devote  the  said  fund  as  aforesaid, 
and  direct  the  income  thereof  to  be  applied  yearly,  and  every 
year  forever,  after  providing  for  the  College  as  hereinbefore 
directed,  as  my  primary  object.  But,  if  the  said  City  shall  know- 
ingly and  wilfully  violate  any  of  the  conditions  hereinbefore  and 
hereinafter  mentioned,  then  I  give  and  bequeath  the  said  remain- 
der, and  accumulations,  to  the  Commonwealth  of  Pennsylvania, 
for  the  purpose  of  internal  navigation;  excepting,  however,  the 
rents,  issues,  and  profits  of  my  real  estate  in  the  city  and  county  of 


STEPHEN    GIRARD'S    WILL.  81 

Philadelphia,  which  shall  forever  be  reserved  and  applied  to  main- 
tain the  aforesaid  College,  in  the  manner  specified  in  the  last 
paragraph  of  the-XXIst  clause  of  this  Will:  And  if  the  Com- 
monwealth of  Pennsylvania  shall  fail  to  apply  this  or  the  preced- 
ing bequest  to  the  purposes  before  mentioned,  or  shall  apply  any 
part  thereof  to  any  other  use,  or  shall,  for  the  term  of  one  year 
from  the  time  of  my  decease,  fail  or  omit  to  pass  the  laws  herein  • 
before  specified  for  promoting  the  improvement  of  the  City  of 
Philadelphia,  then  I  give,  devise,  and  bequeath  the  said  remainder 
and  accumulations  (the  rents  aforesaid  always  excepted  and 
reserved  for  the  College  as  aforesaid)  to  the  United  States  of 
America,  for  the  purpose  of  internal  navigation,  and  no  other. 

Provided,  nevertheless,  and  I  do  hereby  declare,  that  all  the 
preceding  bequests  and  devises  of  the  residue  of  my  estate  to  the 
Mayor,  Aldermen  and  Citizens  of  Philadelphia,  are  made  upon 
the  following  express  conditions,  that  is  to  say  : — First,  That  none 
of  the  moneys,  principal,  interest,  dividends,  or  rents  arising  from 
the  said  residuary  devise  or  bequest,  shall  at  any  time  be  applied 
to  any  other  purpose  or  purposes  whatever,  than  those  herein  men- 
tioned and  appointed;  Second,  That  separate  accounts,  distinct 
from  the  other  accounts  of  the  Corporation,  shall  be  kept  by  the 
said  Corporation,  concerning  the  said  devise,  bequest,  College  and 
funds,  and  of  the  investment  and  application  thereof;  and  that  a 
separate  account  or  accounts  of  the  same  shall  be  kept  in  blank, 
not  blended  with  any  other  account,  so  that  it  may  at  all  times  ap- 
pear, on  examination  by  a  committee  of  the  Legislature,  as  here- 
inafter mentioned,  that  my  intentions  had  been  fully  complied 
with  :  Third,  That  the  said  Corporation  render  a  detailed  account 
annually,  in  duplicate,  to  the  Legislature  of  the  Commonwealth  of 
Pennsylvania,  at  the  commencement  of  the  session,  one  copy  for 
the  Senate,  and  the  other  for  the  House  of  Representative,  con- 
cerning the  said  devised  and  bequeathed  estate,  and  the  investment 
and  application  of  the  same,  and  also  a  report  in  like  manner  of 
the  state  of  the  said  College,  and  shall  submit  all  their  books,  papers, 
and  accounts  touching  the  same,  to  a  committee  or  committees  of 
the  Legislature  for  examination,  when  the  same  shall  be  required. 


82  STEPHEN    GIRARD'S    WILL. 

4th.  The  said  Corporation  shall  also  cause  to  be  published  in 
the  month  of  January,  annually,  in  two  or  more  newspapers,  print- 
ed in  the  city  of  Philadelphia,  a  concise  but  plain  account  of  the 
state  of  the  trusts,  devises  and  bequests  herein  declared  and 
made,  comprehending  the  condition  of  the  said  College,  the  num- 
ber of  scholars,  and  other  particulars  needful  to  be  publicly  known, 
for  the  year  next  preceding  the  said  month  of  January,  annually. 

XXV.  And  whereas,  I  have  executed  an  assignment,  in  trust, 
of  my  banking  establishment,  to  take  effect  the  day  before  my 
decease,  to  the  intent  that  all  the  concerns  thereof  may  be  closed 
by  themselves,  without  being  blended  with  the  concerns  of  my 
general  estate,  and  the  balance  remaining  to  be  paid  over  to  my 
executors :  Now,  I  do  hereby  direct  my  executors,  hereinafter 
mentioned,  not  to  interfere  with  the  said  trust  in  any  way  except  to 
see  that  the  same  is  faithfully  executed,  and  to  aid  the  execution 
thereof  by  all  such  acts  and  deeds  as  may  be  necessary  and  expe- 
dient to  effectuate  the  same,  so  that  it  may  be  speedily  closed,  and 
the  balance  paid  over  to  my  executors,  to  go,  as  in  my  Will,  into 
the  residue  of  my  estate :  And  I  do  hereby  authorize,  direct  and 
empower  the  said  trustees,  from  time  to  time,  as  the  capital  of  the 
said  bank  shall  be  received,  and  shall  not  be  wanted  for  the  dis- 
charge of  the  debts  due  thereat,  to  invest  the  same  in  good  securi. 
ties,  in  the  names  of  my  executors,  and  to  hand  over  the  same  to 
them,  to  be  disposed  of  according  to  this  my  Will. 

XXVI.  Lastly,  I  do  hereby  nominate  and  appoint  Timothy 
Paxson,  Thomas  P.  Cope,  Joseph  Roberts,  William  J.  Duane  and 
John  A.  Barclay,  executors  of  this  my  last  Will  and  Testament : 
I  recommend  to  them  to  close  the  concerns  of  my  estate  as  expe- 
ditiously as  possible,  and  to  see  that  my  intentions  in  respect  to 
the  residue  of  my  estate  are  and  shall  be  strictly  complied  with  : 
and  I  do  hereby  revoke  all  other  Wills  by  me  hitherto  made. 

In  witness,  I,  the  said  Stephen  Girard,  have  to  this  my  last 
Will  and  Testament,  contained  in  thirty-five  pages,  set  my  hand  at 
the  bottom  of  each  page,  and  my  hand  and  seal  at  the  bottom  of 


83 

this  page;  the  said  Will  executed,  from  motives  of  prudence,  in 
4uplicate,  this  sixteenth  day  of  February,  in  the  year  one  thousand 
eight  hundred  and  thirty. 

STEPHEN  GIRARD,  [seal]. 
Signed,  sealed,  published,  and  declared  by  the" 
said  Stephen  Girard,   as  and  for  his   last 
Will  and  Testament,  in  the  presence  of  us, 
who  have  at  his  request  hereunto  subscribed  - 
our  names  as  witnesses  thereto,  in  the  pre- 
sence  of  the   said   Testator,    and   of  each 
other,  Feb.  16,  1830. 

JOHN  H.  IRWIN, 
SAMUEL  ARTHUR, 
S.  H.  CARPENTER. 

WHEREAS,  I,  Stephen  Girard,  the  Testator  named  in  the 
foregoing  Will,  and  Testament,  dated  the  sixteenth  day  of  Feb- 
ruary, eighteen  hundred  and  thirty,  have,  since  the  execution 
thereof,  purchased  several  parcels  and  pieces  of  real  estate,  and 
have  built  sundry  Messuages,  all  of  which,  as  well  as  any  real  es- 
tate that  I  may  hereafter  purchase,  it  is  my  wish  and  intention  to 
pass  by  the  said  Will :  Now,  I  do  hereby  republish  the  foregoing 
last  Will  and  Testament,  dated  February  16,  1830,  and  do  confirm 
the  same  in  all  particulars.  In  witness,  I,  the  said  Stephen  Gi- 
rard, set  my  hand  and  seal  hereunto,  the  twenty-fifth  day  of  De- 
cember, eighteen  hundred  and  thirty. 

STEPHEN  GIRARD,  [seal]. 

Signed,  sealed,  published,  and  declared  by  the] 
said  Stephen  Girard,  as  and  for  a  republica- 
tion of  his  last  Will  and  Testament,  in  the 
presence  of  us,  who,  at  his  request,  have 
hereunto  subscribed  our  names  as  witnesses 
thereto,  in  the  presence  of  the  said  Testa- 
tor and  of  each  other,  December  25th,  1830. , 

JOHN  H.  IRWIN, 

SAMUEL  ARTHUR, 

JNO.  THOMSON. 

WHEREAS,  I,  Stephen  Girard,  the  Testator  named  in  the 
foregoing  Will  and  Testament,  dated  February  16,  1830,  have, 
since  the  execution  thereof,  purchased  several  parcels  and  pieces 


84  STEPHEN    GIRARD'S   WILL. 

of  land  and  real  estate,  and  have  built  sundry  Messuages,  all  which, 
as  well  as  any  real  estate  that  I  may  hereafter  purchase,  it  is  my 
intention  to  pass  by  said  Will;  And  whereas,  in  particular,  I  have 
recently  purchased  from  Mr.  William  Parker,  the  Mansion  House, 
out-buildings,  and  forty-five  acres  and  some  perches  of  land,  called 
Teel  Hall,  on  the  Ridge  Road,  in  Penn  Township;  Now,  I  declare 
it  to  be  my  intention,  and  T  direct,  that  the  Orphan  establishment, 
provided  for  in  my  said  Will,  instead  of  being  built  as  therein  di- 
id  upon  my  square  of  ground  between  High  and  Chestnut  and 
Eleventh  and  Twelfth  streets  in  the  city  of  Philadelphia,  shall 
be  built  upon  the  estate  so  purchased  from  Mr.  William  Parker, 
and  I  hereby  devote  the  said  estate  to  that  purpose,  exclusively, 
in  the  same  manner  as  \  had  devoted  the  said  square,  hereby  di- 
m-ting that  all  the  improvements  and  arrangements  for  the  said 
Orphan  establishment  prescribed  bv  my  said  Will  as  to  said  square, 
shall  be  made  and  executed  upon  the  said  estate,  just  as  if  I 
had  in  my  Will  devoted  the  said  estate  to  said  purpose  —  conse- 
quently, the  said  square  of  ground  is  to  constitute,  and  I  de- 
clare it  to  be  a  part  of  the  residue  and  remainder  of  my  real 
and  personal  estate,  and  given  and  devised  for  the  same  uses  and 
purposes  as  are  declared  in  section  twenty  of  my  Will,  it  being  my 
intention  that  the  said  square  of  ground  shall  be  built  upon  and 
improved  in  such  a  manner  as  to  secure  a  safe  and  permanent  in- 
come for  the  purposes  stated  in  said  twentieth  section.  In  witness 
thereof,  I,  the  said  Stephen  Grirard,  set  my  hand  and  seal  hereun- 
to the  twentieth  clay  of  June,  eighteen  hundred  and  thirty-one. 

STEPHEN  GIRARD,  [seal]. 

Signed,  sealed,  published,  and  declared  by 
the  said  Stephen  Girard,  as  and  for  a  re- 
publication of  his  last  Will  and  Testament, 
and  a  further  direction  in  relation  to  the 
real  estate  therein  mentioned,  in  the  pre- 
sence of  us,  who,  at  his  request,  have  here- 
unto subscribed  our  names  as  witnesses 
thereto,  in  the  presence  of  the  said  Testator, 
and  of  each  other,  June  20,  1831. 

S.  H.  CARPENTER, 

L.  BABDIN, 

SAMUEL  ARTHUR. 


STEPHEN    GIRARd's    WILL.  85 

Philadelphia,  December  31st?  1831. — Then  personally  appeared 
Samuel  Arthur  and  S.  H.  Carpenter,  two  of  the  witnesses  to  the 
foregoing  Will  and  the  second  Codicil  or  republication  thereof,  and 
on  their  oaths  did  say,  that  they  were  present,  and  did  see  and 
hear  Stephen  Girard,  the  testator  in  the  said  Will  and  second  re- 
publication thereof  named,  sign,  seal,  publish,  and  declare  the 
same  as  and  for  his  last  Will  and  Testament,  and  republication 
thereof,  and  that  at  the  doing  thereof,  he  was  of  sound  mind, 
memory,  and  understanding,  to  the  best  of  their  knowledge  and 
belief;  and  at  the  same  time  appeared  Jno.  Thomson,  one  of  the 
witnesses  to  the  first  republication  of  said  Will,  and  on  his  solemn 
affirmation  did  say  that  he  was  present,  and  did  see  and  hear  Ste- 
phen Girard,  the  testator  in  the  first  republication  of  said  Will 
named,  sign,  seal,  publish,  and  declare  the  same  as  and  for  a  re- 
publication of  his  last  Will  and  Testament.  And  the  said  Samuel 
Arthur,  another  of  the  witnesses  to  said  first  republication  of 
said  Will,  on  bis  oath  did  further  say,  that  he  was  present,  and 
did  see  and  hear  Stephen  Girard,  the  testator  in  the  first  republi- 
cation of  said  Will  named,  sign,  seal,  publish,  and  declare  the  same 
as  and  for  a  republication  of  his  last  Will  and  Testament,  and  they 
joth  did  say  that  at  the  doing  thereof,  he  was  of  sound  mind,  me- 
mory, and  understanding,  to  the  best  of  their  knowledge  and  belief. 

Coram, 

J.  HUMES,  Register. 

December  31,  1831. — Timothy  Paxson  and  Thomas  P.  Cope, 
two  of  the  Executors,  affirmed,  and  Joseph  Roberts,  William  J. 
Duane,  and  John  A.  Barclay,  the  other  Executors,  sworn,  and 
letters  testamentary  granted  unto  thern. 


BOARD    OF    DIRECTORS 

OF   THE 

GIRARD  COLLEGE  FOR  ORPHANS. 

1859-60. 


PRESIDENT. 

SAMUEL  H.  PERKINS, 

No.  627  Walnut  Street,  between  Sixth  and  Seventh  Streets. 
(Ex- Officio  Member  of  all  Standing  Committees.) 

WILLIAM  BIDDLE, 

Office  Franklin  Institute. 

JAMES  J.  BOSWELL, 

No.  216  Walnut  Street. 

GEORGE  C.  BOWER,  Jr., 
N.  E.  corner  Sixth  and  Vine  Streets. 

ALEXANDER  BROWN, 

No.  1621  North  Eighth  Street. 

MORD.  L.  DAWSON, 

S.  E.  corner  Walnut  and  Seventh  (2d  story). 

SAMUEL  F.   FLOOD, 

No.  810  South  Fifth  Street,  below  Catharine. 

DANIEL  M.  FOX,  . 
No.  551  York  Avenue.,  > 

THOMAS  E.   HARKINS, 

^orner  of  Thompson  and  Cadwalader  Street. 

JUSTUS  HEATON, 

'07  Commerce  Street. 

r    JACKSON,  M.D., 
~ch  Street. 

F.FFRIES, 


iuORTON 

No.  132  Sout. 


9HAEL, 

I  Street. 


ALBERT  C.  RuBERTS, 

N.  E.  Corner  Vine  and  Eleventh  Streets. 

ALGERNON  S.  ROBERTS, 
No.  320  Walnut  Street. 

ROBERT  SELFRIDGE, 

No.  413  Commerce  Street. 

RICHARD  VAUX, 

No.  524  Walnut  Street. 


Henry  W.  Arey,  Secretary, 

No.  257  South  Ninth  Street. 


Permits  to  visit  the  Institution  can  be  procured  from  any  of  the 
above-named  Directors.  Strangers  are  admitted  to  visit  the  College 
every  day  in  the  week,  except  Sunday,  between  9  o'clock,  a.  m.  and 
sunset,  upon  the  presentation  of  a  permit.  Citizens  are  admitted  on 
the  first  Tuesday  of  each  month,  in  the  afternoon,  with  a  ticket  signed 
by  a  Director. 


rcv 


©ffittrs  of  %  (fcrh  Cc%c. 

PRESIDENT. 

WILLIAM  H.  ALLEN,  LL.D. 

Prof.  LEMUEL  STEPHENS,  Principal  of  Department,  and  Instructor 
in  English,  Mathematics,  Natural  Philosophy,  and  Chemistry. 

Mr.  AVAR  REN  HOLDEN,  Assistant  Teacher  Principal  Department. 

Mr.  GEORGE  STUART,  Instructor  in  English  Studies. 

Mr.   WILLIAM  FISHER,  Teacher  of  Vocal  Music  and  Prefect. 

Prof.  GEORGE  J.  BECKER,  Instructor  of  Drawing,  Writing,  and 
Book-keeping. 

Trof.  FRANCIS  E.  BREGY,  Instructor  of  French  and  Spanish. 

Primary  School  No.  1. 
Miss  MARY  A.  LYNCH,  Principal  Teacher. 
Miss  ANGEL1NE  C.  TURNER,  First  Assistant  Teacher. 
Miss  ANNUO  L.  SCOTT,  Second  Assistant  Teacher. 
Miss  EMILY  BROWN,  Third  Assistant  Teacher. 

I'JUMARY   SCUOOL  NO.   2. 

Miss  JANE  OVERN,  Principal  Teacher. 
Miss  SUSAN  STATZEL,  First  Assistant  Teacher. 
Miss  KETURAH  COLE,  Second  Assistant  Teacher. 
Miss  ROSE  REILLY,  Third  Assistant  Teacher. 


SECRETARY. 
HENRY    W.      \ 


ma; 
Miss        «  ^HELL. 

A  ^    »  ATRON. 

Mrs.^FI        mES  BIDDLE. 


PREFECTS. 

THO^--',  K).  BAILEY,  THOMAS  PF/iRLNS, 

JOSEPH  T.  PRATT,  GEORGE  MAGUIRE. 

GOVERNESSES. 

Mrs.  SUSAN  WRIGLEY,  Mrs.  ELIZA  LINN, 

Miss  MARY  A.  BATEMAN,         Miss  ISABELLA  MITCHELL. 

.    STEWARD. 

SAMUEL  OVERN. 

PHYSICIANS. 

S.  L.  HOLLINGSWORTH,  M.D.,         JOHN  B.  BIDDLE,  M.D. 


JOSEPH  E.  PARKER. 


. 


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